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SUPERMARKET chain Tesco will take on the £50m import centre that will create at least 800 jobs on Teesside it was confirmed yesterday.

The new 1.2 million sq ft building, Tesco's first purpose-built import centre, will be located on 66 acres of PD Ports' land at Teesport.

The Northern Echo reported in March that Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council gave PD Ports approval for the facility, but it was only yesterday that Tesco's involvement was confirmed.

The centre will create more than 800 direct jobs during the next two years and also new jobs among suppliers and logistics companies serving the centre.

The centre, on brownfield land beside the future Northern Gateway Container Terminal, is in response to Tesco branching out from traditional food lines to electrical goods, many of which are imported from the Far East.

It will be sited alongside a 360,000sq ft Asda Walmart import centre, which is already operational.

David Robinson, group chief executive officer of PDP, said: "We are delighted to have signed a deal with the leading UK retailer Tesco to create another major import centre at Tees Dock.

"With this agreement now in place, we are hoping to see construction start in July with the first part of the new import centre operational by autumn 2009."

Tesco corporate affairs manager Juliette Bishop said: "We are delighted to announce the development of our first purposebuilt import storage facility at Teesport.

"The import centre will create 800 jobs for local people and we hope it will help to attract other investment to the area."

She added: "We need to increase our storage capacity to deal with the increased levels of imported containerised goods, and building a storage facility at the port removes the need to move stock from the port where it is imported, to a storage facility inland."

Redcar MP Vera Baird said: "It is terrific news. It is likely to mean 800 more jobs for the area and should maintain confidence in the region's economy."

Redcar and Cleveland council leader Councillor George Dunning said: "We may well be close to a worldwide economic slowdown, but our local major industries, like PD Ports, keep announcing good news story after good news story on the jobs front.

"That means we will be much better placed not only to recover quickly from any slowdown, but it may have very little effect on our Redcar and Cleveland/Tees Valley area at all.

"One would hope that a lot of these 800 jobs will go to local people.

We need to make sure that our local people have the necessary skills to fill these jobs."

Joanne Fryett, North-East Chamber of Commerce head of member relations, said: "PD Ports has shown remarkable energy and tenacity to win its fight to get a deep sea container terminal here in the Tees Valley.

"This announcement shows exactly why that campaign was waged and how this region can benefit directly from such a bold move. This is tremendous news and will further build on the outstanding recent success of the Tees Valley economy."

Earlier this year, PD Ports, owner of the 700 acre Teesport site, won planning permission from the Government to expand the site to include a £300m deepsea 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.

7:55am Saturday 3rd May 2008

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