Port of Liverpool names main contractor for £300m container development
Port of Liverpool owner Peel Ports today named international property and infrastructure group Lend Lease as the main contractor for Liverpool2, its £300m deep-water container terminal, Liverpool Daily Post reports.
The terminal will be able to handle the biggest container ships in the world which will ply the oceans after the widening of the Panama Canal trade route.
The landmark terminal will be open for business in 2015 and is expected to generate thousands of jobs and economic growth for the region.
As principal contractor Lend Lease will be Peel Ports’ construction partner for the Liverpool2 development, and a key part of the project delivery team.
Peel Ports Mersey managing director Gary Hodgson said: “The naming of the principal contractor is a vitally important move in the construction of Liverpool2, and we are confident that Lend Lease, with an impressive track record on major construction projects across the globe, is the right company for the job.
“This facility represents a transformational project for the Peel Ports business.
“It will bring thousands of jobs and economic prosperity to the Merseyside region along with the rest of the North West.
“The Liverpool2 brand will become known throughout the world as our new container terminal brings customers to the North West from all points of the compass from South America to the Far East.
“By any standard it is a significant development and a major investment. By naming the principal contractor today, we have further emphasised our commitment to the building of Liverpool2.”
Lend Lease spokesman Michael Dyke said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract and are particularly excited at working with Peel Ports, as they seek to redefine such an important entry point to UK plc.”
The new terminal will accommodate two vessels of up to 13,500 containers at a time.
It will allow shipping lines, exporters and importers to connect to the UK’s major trade centres in the most cost efficient and carbon friendly manner as a result of the container terminal being located in the centre of the British Isles.
Liverpool2 is forecast to be the largest boost to employment creation and the Merseyside economy since the development of the Liverpool One city centre retail complex, delivering more than 6,000 jobs.
It is the key project in the Mersey Ports Master Plan, the 20-year vision for growth and future developments at the Port of Liverpool and on the Manchester Ship Canal, launched by Peel Ports last year.
