Associated British Ports (ABP) has welcomed the Government’s response to the House of Commons’ Transport Select Committee’s wide-ranging report on ports. The Government says it would be ‘unacceptable’ to hold up key decisions on port expansion until a national ports plan has been formulated.
The Government argues against introducing a national ports plan, saying that “proposals for port expansion should be treated as far as possible in the same way as other commercial and industrial developments”. Referring to applications for port expansion, the Government adds that: “Promoters of those applications have a reasonable exception of early determination, and it is widely recognised that port capacity restraints will soon start to impose costs on shippers, to the detriment of the national economy.” Bo Lerenius, group chief executive of ABP Holdings, says: “We are pleased that the Government recognises the huge contribution that the ports industry makes to the UK and need to encourage the market to develop ports to meet growth in traffic. As the Government’s response makes clear, there is an imminent need to deal with the lack of container port capacity and we believe that decisions need to be taken as soon as possible. We look forward to the earliest possible approval by the Government of our Dibden Terminal project so that ABP’s port of Southampton can continue to contribute to the UK’s prosperity.”
ABP’s plans for Dibden terminal is currently with the Government.The prospect plan for Dibden Terminal.The prospect plan for Dibden Terminal.
