ABP awards design and build contract for Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility
Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s leading ports group, has awarded the design and build contract for its ambitious Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility (LEEF) to McLaughlin & Harvey, according to the company's release.
ABP’s vision for LEEF is to provide a facility that is suitable for Operations & Maintenance (O&M) activities and construction support for the offshore energy industry, helping to transform the town of Lowestoft into East of England’s premier offshore energy hub.
As part of the next phase of the project, ABP will invest around £1m in the detailed design of infrastructural upgrades of the site, including the addition of extra capacity to accommodate the next generation of larger offshore support vessels.
The design phase is anticipated to last around 6 months with the construction following over the next 12 months and potential for vessels to begin using the facility from 2024.
LEEF forms part of the Port Gateway project which is 1 of 5 projects that will benefit from Lowestoft’s £24.9M towns deal awarded in 2020 by the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities as a result of a successful Investment Plan submitted by East Suffolk Council.
The Port of Lowestoft has a long history of servicing the offshore energy sector, as a home to O&M bases for Scottish Power Renewables and Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE). It also benefits from its strategic location and close proximity to Orbis Energy and PowerPark, where key offshore energy developers, operators and service providers are located.
