Port cash boost will hit lorry traffic (From Thurrock Gazette)

Port cash boost will hit lorry traffic

8:00am Friday 17th August 2012 in News

THE Port of Tilbury has secured a grant of £3.36million from the European Commission.

The funding, from the Motorways of the Sea programme, will be used to reduce congestion between the Iberian Peninsula and the UK by moving trucks off the road.

The Port of Tilbury is the first port in the UK to secure the grant, which will see redevelopment in the container terminal, including new cranes, straddle carriers, a new IT system and resurfacing work.

Spain’s biggest port, Bilbao, jointly submitted the bid for funding with Tilbury, and will get around £2.39million.

Perry Glading, chief operating officer of Forth Ports, which owns the Port of Tilbury, said: “We are delighted the Port of Tilbury has been awarded this important funding.

“This recognises the growing importance of developing Motorways of the Sea connections between the Iberian Peninsula and the UK.

“This substantial award will see further development of our short sea container operations at London Container Terminal over the next two years, as well as achieving a shift from road to sea and improving efficiency in the supply chains between the two countries.”

The bid was based on the removal of trucks from the roads of West and Southern Europe, the development of short sea shipping between Spain and the UK, and the increased efficiency and volume of freight from the Iberian Peninsula to the UK.

It is hoped more than 225,000,000km of journeys will be moved from the road to the sea over a 15-year period, which will help eliminate bottlenecks on roads between Spain and the UK.

The project should be completed by the end of 2014.