Forth Ports enters land purchase agreement at Tilbury

The United Kingdom-based port owner and operator entered into an agreement to purchase 152 acres of land just east of the Port of Tilbury, which will expand the port’s coverage to 1,100 acres.    Forth Ports, a United Kingdom-based port owner and operator, entered into an agreement to purchase 152 acres of land, including a further deep water jetty, the company said.
   Situated just east of the Port of Tilbury, the land is part of RWE’s former Tilbury Power Station, which closed in 2013. Forth Ports has already taken ownership of part of the 152-acre site and will acquire the remainder once the power station has been demolished.
   “The former power station site offers a fantastic deep water berth and the land is ideal for the port centric logistics in which Tilbury specializes,” Port of London Authority Chief Executive Robin Mortimer said.
   Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed. At least 100 million euros (U.S. $110.1 million) are expected to be invested in infrastructure facilities on the land.
   Forth Ports intends for the new site to have connections to the national rail and road networks.
   Once this land is fully acquired, the Port of Tilbury will cover 1,100 acres.
   “We are acquiring this additional land to extend the port in response to increasing demand from customers who are seeking additional capacity within the port,” Forth Ports Chief Executive Charles Hammond said. “We have an ambitious growth plan for the Port of Tilbury and this land deal will complement our other development projects at the port including the growth of London Distribution Park and the opening this year of the UK’s largest port-based chill store, operated by our partners NFT.”
   Overall, the Port of Tilbury is equipped with over 16 independent working terminals and 34 operational berths. The port specializes in handling a variety of cargo including paper and forest products, containers, roll-on/roll-off, grain and bulk commodities and construction and building materials.
   In addition to the Port of Tilbury, Forth Ports owns and operates seven other commercial ports across the United Kingdom, which include the ports of Grangemouth, Dundee, Leith, Rosyth, Methil, Burntisland and Kirkcaldy.