Cargo Business Techwire

Friday, August 15, 2014

Zhenhua Heavy Industries to provide cranes for Liverpool port expansion

Shanghai's Zhenhua Heavy Industries won a $175 million contract to provide 30 cranes for a big expansion project that will allow the Port of Liverpool to accommodate the world's largest container ships.

Peel Ports placed an order for a series of cranes for its new $500 million deep-water port, presently being built on the River Mersey in Northern England. Zhenhua Heavy Industries will supplying eight ship-to-shore megamax quay cranes and 22 cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes.

"This signing represents a significant investment for the long term and the most important investment at Port of Liverpool in the last 20 years," said Peel Ports' chief executive Mark Whitworth. "It will help position Liverpool2 as one of the fastest most efficient container ports in the world, allowing over 90 percent of the global fleet to be handled at Liverpool, making it a real game changer for shipping lines."

Peel said when the new facility is completed the port will be able to handle ships carrying up to 13,000 TEUs, up from 5,000 at present.

Local politicians are backing the project, which is expected to reposition Liverpool as the main multimodal freight and logistics hub for an area spanning more than half of Britain.

Scheduled to open next year, the new facility, known as "Liverpool2," is expected to add an extra 500,000 TEUs annually to the port's capacity. It will take total annual volumes to around 2 million TEUs.

For more of the Shanghai Daily story: shanghaidaily.com

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