Video Shows the Plan of Development for Mixed Cargo Port on River Thames

UK – With some of us old enough to remember the original construction of the branch dock at Tilbury back in the early 1960's prompted by the closure of the Royal Docks in the heart of London, the latest iteration, Tilbury2, the multimillion pound investment by owners Forth Ports, is the next exciting development in the history of a key component in Britain's maritime history which began with the opening of the original Port of Tilbury in the steamship era of the 1880's.

With the development of deep water container port London Gateway just downriver, Forth have taken up the challenge and confirmed the group’s commitment to the success of the region with a different tactic. Tilbury 2 is very much focused on a mixed bag of cargoes with strong emphasis on bulk freight, particularly with the capital’s construction needs in mind.

Forth received development consent from the Secretary of State for Transport in February to proceed with the development of Tilbury2 on a site adjacent to the current port. The development will comprise a RoRo ferry terminal for importing and exporting unaccompanied containers and trailers to northern Europe in partnership with P&O Ferries, storage areas for import cargoes, particularly cars, and a strategic rail terminal which can accommodate the country’s longest freight trains, up to 775 metres.

Forth says the development is central to the Port of Tilbury’s £1billion investment programme during 2012-20. Tilbury has doubled the size of its business in the past 10 years and is projected to double the volume of cargo across the quay (from 16 million to 32 million tonnes) and increase direct employment (from 3,500 to 12,000 jobs) over the next 10-15 years. A new video showing the development plan is viewable here and Peter Ward, Commercial Director at the Port of Tilbury, observed:

“Construction of Tilbury2 is well underway and by issuing this CGI video we can see how accessible the new port is to London and how the port will operate when it opens next year. We are excited about this development which has been driven by demand for our customers and we are grateful to the local community for their support during this construction phase.”