By Sarah Nicholls

Last updated at 12:47, Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Transport minister Mike Penning visited the Port of Workington to see a £2.9 million project to double its container handling capacity.

Transport Minister Mike Penning, second right, with Tom Gilroy, of Britain's Energy Coast, Port chairman Janet Fallon and county council’s Eddie Martin

West Cumbrian firm Thomas Armstrong was last month awarded the contract to develop the facilities and work is due to be completed in September.

Colin Sharpe, business development manager at the port, said the work would see the port’s container management capacity increase from around 7,000 a year to about 14,000 a year.

Mr Penning labelled the move a key step forward for west Cumbria.

He said: “I’m massively impressed by the Port of Workington because what I have been calling for and the Government has been calling for for two years is that we utilise all our ports but our smaller ports step up to the mark and say ‘we’re open for business’.

“We physically can’t get it all onto road and rail if we are going to get the growth to get us out of this economic situation. We are a maritime national and I have got hundreds of ports but I haven’t got hundreds of ports like this that step up to the mark.

“They are a vital part of this country’s infrastructure and Workington is no exception.

“The investment which has been secured here will be a huge benefit to the regional economy. Along with the extra jobs it will create it will give the port the potential to support the growth of other local businesses.”

The project is part of a £5.7m investment programme funded by Britain’s Energy Coast, Nuclear Management Partners and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Along with extra hard-standing areas and warehousing for containers and other cargo, the port is getting a new mobile crane, a reach stacker, tractor units and trailers, IT upgrades and improvements to security and lighting.

Cumbria County Council has calculated that the contract will deliver £12.4m worth of environmental benefits in the first 10 years. It is expected to create eight to 10 direct new jobs at the port, along with more indirect jobs.

It is a key step in work to develop the port into a modern, multi-modal terminal which can transfer cargo between sea, road and rail.

Mr Sharpe added that the port was also looking to use land outside its current boundary, including 60 acres to the north, to the site where Tesco built its temporary supermarket in 2009, to expand.

First published at 11:31, Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk