Construction has started at Liverpool2, Peel Ports’ £300 million in-river container terminal which will enable vessels of up to 13,500 TEU to call at Liverpool.
Sir Bobby Charlton and Kenny Dalglish kicked off the work which is starting with a dredging operation to remove one million cubic metres of material from the seabed.
The new terminal is being constructed on reclaimed land in the Mersey, known as the Seaforth Triangle. Dredging will create a 16.5 metre berthing pocket. An 854 metre-long quay wall will be constructed.
The project will require eight ship to shore cranes and 27 rail mounted gantry cranes.
The aim is to enable container ships from around the world to connect directly with the northern half of the UK and Ireland, and so serve a market estimated at around 4 million TEUs a year.
Mark Whitworth, group chief executive of Peel Ports, said: “Over the last 18 months APL, Evergreen and Zim have started to offer weekly feeder connections into Liverpool, while MSC and CMA have continued to grow their long-standing feeder volumes through the port.”
Of the £300 million overall construction cost for Liverpool2 £150 million has been funded with a twenty-year European Investment Bank loan.
