Better located – and no M25 !

By David Ralph, chief executive, Haven Gateway

For a long time the proposed London Gateway container terminal on the River Thames seemed speculative. Announcements that construction was starting always seemed caveated – but now London Gateway is on the way. After some considerable delays, port owner and operator DP World has confirmed that the new deepwater container facility will open in the fourth quarter 2013. Suddenly a proposal that’s been beyond the distant horizon for longer than most can remember is going to become reality.

What does that mean for the Port of Felixstowe and the wider Haven Gateway’s shipping and logistics sector? Undoubtedly it means new competition – we would always support that. Clearly, it’s also a time when we must redouble our efforts and make sure the world knows what the Haven Gateway has to offer.

The Haven Gateway is indeed “unrivalled”! We should not undersell or underestimate our considerable advantages when serving the maritime and logistics sector.

As Felixstowe port’s owner, Hutchison Ports UK, recently pointed out: “We are better located, closer to the main shipping lanes than they [London Gateway] are, we have better rail connections than they will be able to offer, and we don’t need to navigate the M25 to get everywhere from here.”

Felixstowe is unrivalled as the UK’s largest container port by far – and one of the largest in Europe. HPUK has demonstrated its commitment by investing heavily in Berths 8&9, and further investment is on the way in a new rail terminal this year.

The Haven Gateway is committed to supporting and developing the subregion’s maritime and logistics sector, and that has included, in recent times, carrying out a major employment land study to identify suitable sites for employment and business, some with a specific focus on logistics.

If you must look for the downsides, there is one; we may not have to endure the M25, but we do have our own challenges in the form of the A14. This is a road that links the country’s busiest container port with the highly populated, industrial heartland of England. For years we and many others have lobbied the government regarding the upgrade of this vital corridor. And it does seem that our voices are at last being heard.

In its Autumn Statement, the government set out its intention to address problems with the A14; this was followed by the “A14 Challenge”, an engagement process seeking views on the way ahead, including whether the improvements should be funded by a toll road.

Now we must wait to hear the government’s proposals. John Dugmore, chief executive of the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, said recently: “The A14 plays a fundamental part in the daily operation of the Suffolk economy. For far too long the need to address what are regular incidents of congestion has been ignored. We have to make it clear that the time is right and the time is now for improvements to be made.”