Report is expected to criticise Government over use of ports

9:09am Tuesday 17th October 2006

A HARD-HITTING report is today expected to condemn the Government for not doing more to support the expansion of regional ports.

The Institute of Civil Engineers' (ICE) annual State of the Nation report is being launched today and is expected to conclude that weak infrastructure is a major threat to the region's economic development.

It will argue that there is a lack of capacity and flexibility on the North-East's rail, road and port networks, which is threatening to undermine efforts to regenerate the region.

It will also call for the active promotion of seaports across the UK - including Teesport, which is hoping to build a £300m deep sea container terminal - to better service the regions as well as reduce the strain on the South-East.

This in turn would help reduce congestion on the overheated roads in the South.

The ICE report is published each year and highlights weaknesses in the UK's road, rail and shipping infrastructure which need to be addressed.

Martyn Pellew, group development director at Teesport owner PD Ports, said: "The Institute of Civil Engineers is an influential body because the issues it raises in its State of the Nation report, which is fully independent, are actually from the civil engineers who are responsible for building the infrastructure.

"If the engineers believe there is a problem with congestion in the South-East, it is a very good indication that there is support for what we are trying to do.

"They will know better than anyone what the issues are, and are totally independent both from the Government and from the port operators."

PD Ports is hoping to build a £300m deep-sea container terminal on the Tees, which could create up to 5,500 jobs.

It had been campaigning for the Government to halt port expansion in the south to allow capacity shortages to be met in the North and reduce congestion in the overheated South-East.

However, the Government went ahead and approved plans to expand two ports in the South, at Felixstowe and Harwich, and said it was minded to approve one in London.

This was despite opposition from residents due to congestion and noise concerns, and from environmental groups because the port at Harwich will be on green field land.

At Teesport, the port's plans have support from local communities and business, and the development will be on brownfield land.

ICE's State of the Nation report last year was critical of Government, providing a sound endorsement of port expansion in the north and said expansion in the south was purely down to commercial interests and not for the good of the UK.

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