Up to 1,500 new jobs could be created at a huge new logistics park on the edge of Ipswich.
Developers are about to submit detailed plans for the project - and are hoping work on site can get underway this year.
The scheme will see a 60-acre site with access from the A14 next door to Ransomes Europark developed with four large buildings of one million sq ft, designed to be flexible for a range of business uses.
BentallGreenOak and its development partner Equation Properties say the Orwell Logistics Park will be a "world-class" scheme and bring a big boost to the area's economy, particularly needed as it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Outline permission for the logistics park was granted in spring 2018. Planners were shown proposals for the site between the A14 near Seven Hills and Nacton, encompassing the Orwell Truck Stop and Orwell Crossing Service Area and lorry park, and adjoining site of former piggeries.
The Port of Felixstowe welcomed the project and said port-centric warehousing and distribution and fast and efficient landside logistics for the reception and onward transportation of shipped goods would be vital in the post-Brexit world.
Community leaders acknowledged concerns over extra traffic and particularly the extra pressure on the Seven Hills interchange and asked for talks between landowners to see if a road link was possible between the site and adjoining Ransomes Europark.
BentallGreenOak and Equation Properties said they are now preparing to submit a Reserved Matters Application, which would pave the way to making the logistics park a reality.
The scheme would comprise four versatile buildings of between 88,000sq ft and 500,000sq ft, along with on-site parking.
Richard Batham-Read, development director at Equation Properties, said: “We believe that a logistics park at Orwell Crossing responds to a demonstrable need for a new logistics hub in the area and will bring huge economic benefits to the regional economy.
"This major investment into the local area will create a significant number of new jobs and help support the local economic recovery post-pandemic.”
He said the development could bring up to 1,500 new jobs to the area.
East Suffolk Council will decide whether to approve the final scheme. Depending on the planning process, work could start on the new logistics park in summer.
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