Business News
Port development could trigger extra jobs and cash
MILLIONS of pounds worth of
extra investment could be made
in the region as a result of the latest
phase of development at
Teesport, development leaders
said last night.
The approval of plans to build
a £50m import centre at the Middlesbrough
port, creating 800
direct jobs as well as several hundred
more with local suppliers
and distributors as a knock-on
result, has been hailed as fantastic
news for the North-East.
And the news comes only
weeks after PD Ports, owner of
Teesport, won planning permission
from the Government to
expand the site to include a
£300m deep-sea container terminal
- in a project known as the
Northern Gateway - which will
allow direct imports from the Far
East and Asia.
At least 5,500 jobs are expected
to be created as a result of the
expansion, which is expected to
be completed by 2011.
The first stage of the import
centre, which will stand on 68
acres of land on PD Ports' site at
Tees Dock, is expected to be in operation
by summer next year.
The latest phase of development
at the thriving port was
said to have the potential to add
millions of pounds of further
investment to the North-East
economy.
Ian Williams, director of business
and industry at regional development
agency One North
East, said the rapid expansion of
Teesport had elevated PD Ports
to become one of the region's key
businesses.
"This development has the
potential to create hundreds of
jobs and trigger millions of
pounds of investment so it is fantastic
news, both for the Tees
Valley and the region as a whole,"
he said. "PD Ports is already a
major employer in the area and
these plans, which have been
confirmed just weeks after the
Government gave formal planning
approval for Teesport's
Northern Gateway container terminal,
will secure its place as one
of the North-East's leading businesses."
Councillor George Dunning,
leader of Redcar and Cleveland
Borough Council, also welcomed
the latest phase of development,
and said the employment created
was vital for the area.
"The announcement of 800
new jobs at PD Ports is fantastic
news not only for Redcar and
Cleveland, but for the wider
Teesside and Tees Valley area,"
he said.
Joanne Fryett, head of member
relations with the North-East
Chamber of Commerce, said:
"This is a huge step forward. An
additional 800 jobs will all add to
reducing unemployment.
"With the recent announcement
of the business park next to
Durham Tees Valley Airport and
plans for the Tees Valley Metro,
among so many other things
going on, what is happening
at Teesport really raises the bar
and shows that the Tees Valley
is far from being a one-trick
pony."
8:23am Friday 28th March 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
