UK’s Teesport completes phase one of expansion

PD Ports completed the first phase of expanding the container terminal handling facilities at Teesport on the UK’s northeast coast.

The $3.3 million investment in the latest expansion program to further develop the facilities involved the relocation of the port’s Vauxhall car import compound to make some 10 acres of additional land available, directly behind the existing TCT2 container terminal.

The land has been freed up to accommodate an increase in container volume. The Port expects to increase its container volume in the period before the Northern Gateway Container Terminal starts construction.

PD Ports' annual container-handling capacity at Teesport has increased from 206,000 20-foot containers to 236,000 TEUS (125,000 to 143,000 containers) as a result of this recent investment.

PD Ports attributes the increase in volume to the growth of existing customer activity, together with increased logistics traffic from Asda Wal-Mart and Tesco, whose 1.2 million square foot import center is due to open at Teesport next week.

Some $991,000 of this latest investment went into the purchase of new equipment, including two new empty container handlers, four terminal tractors and five trailers to more efficiently handle the growing number of containers stored within the dock area.

Initially the Port will use the area to hold stocks of empty containers for major existing customers, such as CMA CGM, Containerships and Mediterranean Shipping Co.

Source: http://www.joc.com