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Roundup: British official visits new 400 mln USD Mersey super port

Xinhua, August 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

British official Chris Grayling paid the first official visit as Secretary of State for Transport to Liverpool on Friday, ahead of the opening of a new 400 million U.S. dollars container port terminal on the River Mersey.

Trials have just been made at the new facility which will allow the world's biggest container ships to load and unload in the River Mersey.

A fleet of giant cranes, built in Shanghai and shipped to Liverpool, are now fully operational, awaiting the opening of the new riverside dock at Seaforth in north Liverpool.

Owners Peel Ports say the new terminal is expected to create up to 5,000 new jobs.

Peel Ports' chief executive Mark Whitworth said: "The minister's interest maintains the government's support for our efforts to facilitate British trade through this key cargo gateway."

"With full opening now imminent, we will soon be able to offer companies ship-to-door access to the heart of the UK market via the biggest container ships in the world," he added.

Grayling also visited south Manchester to see how a 300 million U.S. dollars road scheme will improve links to Manchester Airport, Britain's busiest provincial airport.

The first five ship-to-shore cranes arrived in Liverpool last November aboard the vessel Zhen Hua 23, completing an 29,000 km-journey that started three months earlier in Shanghai. The cranes are a key part of the biggest ever investment in Liverpool's new deep water port.

The super structures were produced by Chinese company Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co.,Ltd. (ZPMC), a famous heavy duty equipment manufacturer, as part of a contract with Peel Ports.

In May, the first six cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes arrived at the port. Ultimately the facility will have eight ship-to-shore cranes and 22 cantilever gantry cranes.

Phase one of the container terminal is due to be fully operational this fall. The terminal will be able to handle vessels up to 20,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent units) or two 13,500 TEU vessels simultaneously.

The cranes will have the ability to operate at speeds in excess of 30 moves per hour and will facilitate an anticipated 1,500 moves in each tidal window. Endit