36 focus on M27 & southampton City makes top cruise port in Europe


The Port of Southampton is celebrating after being recognised as the UK number one in each of its three core businesses – cars, cruises and containers.


Long the UK’s leading cruise port, Southampton is now also Europe’s number one turnaround cruise port, where some of the biggest cruise ships in the world begin and end their voyages.


In cars, the port has regained its title as the UK’s principle vehicle handling port, with a further 100,000 vehicles passing across the quayside in the past 12 months, taking the total to 750,000.


The container terminal has not one but four claims to the coveted UK number one title, including being the most efficient and productive container port in the country. The cranes in Southampton operate at an average of 28 moves an hour, the highest rate in the UK. The terminal also has 36% of its containers moved out by rail, the highest of any UK terminal, the fastest truck turnaround times in the country and the UK’s record of 651 crane moves in one 12-hour shift.


Southampton Port director Doug Morrison said: “Our mission was to be the number one turnaround cruise port in Europe and we have achieved this without any public subsidy or investment.


“The port is a huge success story for the region, not only in terms of the 12,000 jobs that are reliant on it, but also in terms of really putting Southampton on the map on the international stage.


APB secures £70m to develop docks


In what is to be one of the biggest overhauls in the history of Southampton, Associated British Ports (ABP) plans to develop the city’s docks and open them up to trade from around the world. Following a £70 million loan signed off by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the plans have been given the green light.


Among the work to be carried out in the £140m project is the widening and deepening of the channel to the port’s container terminal which would open up the port to new, ultra-large container ships from all over the world and in particular the Far East.


Following the signing of the loan by the EIB, a preferred contractor for the dredge is expected to be announced in August and work could begin as soon as next month.


The expansion would also see berths upgraded and enormous new gantry cranes installed, which would be among the largest in the world.


Port chiefs are hopeful that the expansion will allow container ships to travel through the Panama Canal from the Far East to Southampton.


The EIB’s vice-president Jonathan Taylor said: “Increased global trade handled by larger ships built for the widened Panama Canal provides significant opportunities for regional economic development in a new era of logistics.


“EIB-backed investment by ABP in Southampton will not only improve container handling at the UK’s most efficient container terminal but also sustain thousands of jobs across southern England.“


Airport flies high over summer months


The summer holidays benefited Southampton Airport, which saw more than half a million passengers use its services from May to July.


For the three consecutive months comprising the early summer season the airport has seen the largest rate of growth since 2008.


Managing director Dave Lees said: “A combination of increased flights to some of our popular sun routes, competitive pricing and


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offers from our airlines and tour operators, and the long, cold winter may all have contributed.“


Summer sun routes proved especially popular and Malaga, Alicante, Faro and Palma showed the biggest increases in passenger numbers, while Jersey and Alderney in the Channel islands enjoyed an upward trend. Amsterdam, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Paris also remain popular city break destinations.


“This UK number one position isn’t ours by right – this is the result of a lot of hard work and huge investment. If we want to stay ahead of the competition we must continue to develop our business and not rest on our laurels.“


Fareham College awards £12m contract


Fareham College has awarded the contract to design and build its new £12 million engineering and advanced manufacturing skills centre to Leadbitter. The project is the first step in an ambitious £26m capital investment programme by the college, which received a further boost last week with news of a £4.7m award from the Skills Funding Agency.


The CEMAST centre, on the Solent Enterprise Zone, will focus particularly on advanced marine and aerospace manufacturing sectors and represents a major investment in the future of engineering skills for the Fareham and Gosport peninsula.


Jacobs UK is the client project manager, cost consultant and CDMC for the CEMAST project, working with the client and contractor to ensure the contract is let within the agreed budget and on programme.


Perkins Ogden Architects rose to the challenge of the ambitious funding-driven planning programme, helping to secure planning for the £12m centre just six months after its appointment.


Spokesperson Mervyn Perkins said: “Our aim is that CEMAST, the first new building on the recently- created Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus, will set a high design-quality benchmark and even a building typology upon this unique site for future neighbours to respond to.“


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – SEPTEMBER 2013


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