The global economic crisis put several major port developments around the world firmly back on the shelf. But not Felixstowe South! As Andrew Harston, port development director of Hutchison Ports (UK) said recently: “No one can accuse Hutchison Ports of not doing its best to boost spending and the economy. Work on the Felixstowe South extension is now nearing completion.”

The new Berths 8 and 9, the result of an investment adding up to hundreds of millions of pounds, will provide much-needed deepwater capacity for the UK. They will be the largest container berths in the country, served by the largest cranes of their type in the world.

“Berths 8 and 9 will put Felixstowe in a very strong position to handle the increasing number of very large container ships that are coming into service,” says Andrew Harston.

Speaking at the Port of Felixstowe’s recent community reception, he also highlighted the port’s impressive carbon reduction performance. Last year HPUK signed up to the 10:10 initiative, in which businesses pledged to cut their own carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. Data is still being collated for the full year but the figures for the first half were certainly very encouraging – a 9.97% reduction in six months!

Sea transport is already recognised as the ‘greenest’ form of transport. Being able to offer the customers – the supermarkets and the big logistics companies – a better range of low-carbon options for onward transport is another of Felixstowe’s strengths. That includes coastal feeder ships and rail transport.

Transport Minister Theresa Villiers’ visit to the port earlier this month underlined Felixstowe’s excellent rail connections. She formally inaugurated a new crane which is the latest of a series of investments by HPUK at the port’s South Rail Terminal. These have included extending the length of the terminal to accommodate longer trains, replacing older handling equipment, and relaying some of the tracks.

Felixstowe puts more containers on to more trains to more destinations than any other UK port – there are trains going daily to 17 destinations, mostly throughout the Midlands, the North and into Scotland.

“We were very pleased to welcome the Transport Minister to the port,” said Paul Davey, HPUK’s head of corporate affairs. “We are continuing to invest heavily in new equipment and infrastructure to increase the port’s capacity to transfer freight to rail. This latest investment will help provide our customers with further sustainable transport options.”

Theresa Villiers said during her visit: “This new crane will help increase the volume of freight traffic on our railways which will benefit hundreds of businesses across the UK who rely on daily deliveries. 

“Enabling more containers to be carried by rail will also help to divert freight traffic from our roads, relieving congestion.  It also reflects our commitment to investing in our railways, which are vital to our economic growth.’’

The next phase of development at Felixstowe will provide a third, larger, rail terminal at the port’s Trinity Terminal. The New North Rail Terminal will eventually double the volume of traffic handled by rail.