An East Anglian construction firm says it is "proud" as it celebrates the completion of two major port schemes.

R G Carter - which has offices across the region - has built two new secure inspection facilities for Hutchinson Ports at Felixstowe and Harwich.

The sites will inspect goods such as fresh produce and plants entering the UK and they include high specification offices and welfare facilities for port and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) staff.

R G Carter completed the complex works at Harwich International Port within 42 weeks. The new site lies close to a newly constructed port exit and includes state-of-the-art, steel-framed buildings housing temperature-controlled conditions to maintain ambient, chilled, or frozen temperatures to accommodate the goods being inspected.

One key task was to manage the site's 200-strong workforce including staff and sub-contractors.

R G Carter general manager and director James Wilson said he was "delighted" to be handing over another successful project to Hutchinson.

“This has been an exciting and truly collaborative project for us to be involved in and we are delighted to have delivered these essential facilities at these busy regional Ports. We are very proud to see them successfully open for operational use and hope they provide the very highest standards of efficiency required at this important checkpoint,” he said.

The Felixstowe project included the installation of 10 dock levellers and two loading bays with temperature-controlled rooms holding commercial fridges and freezers.

The site at Harwich has a new exit road which allows freight to reach the facility and then exit directly onto the A120to cut freight congestion.