Multi-million pound contract for port

EXECUTIVES at the Port of Felixstowe have awarded the £28 million civil engineering contract for the terminal's next extension project to Costain Limited.

The company was chosen from a shortlist of three major contractors.

Apart from submitting the most competitive bid, an important factor in the decision was Costain's previous experience of working at Felixstowe.

The company was responsible for the construction of the previous extension of Trinity Terminal – 630 metres of extra quayside – in 1996.

The project this time will involve a 270-metre extension to Trinity. The port was granted the Harbour Revision Order to proceed with the project in October following a public inquiry.

Work on the extension will commence in mid-February 2003. The quay is expected to be fully operational by March 2004, though sections of it will be operational before this date.

As well as the construction of the quay, the channel approach will be dredged to -14.5 metres continuous with the extension, and alongside the berth to -15 metres.

The work will also include using dredged clay to improve habitat for wildlife living on the Trimley and Shotley foreshores.

The extension will provide an additional 270 metres of deep-water quay, enabling the port to handle more of the latest generation of large container ships simultaneously.

It will also provide 15 hectares of additional container storage space. A third rail terminal will also be built as part of the project, which will also include millions of pounds spent on new cranes and other equipment.

The expansion of the port will increase capacity by some 415,000 standard-sized containers to more than 3 million boxes a year.

The port has also announced plans for a further expansion project which industry experts say could cost up to £250 million. This will involve filling in the Dock Basin and converting the old P&O ro-ro berths and Landguard Terminal to deep-water terminals.