Swansea port gets £2.1m upgrade

Associated British Ports (ABP) is investing £2.1m in upgrading the outer lock gates at the Welsh port of Swansea

This marks the first in a series of investments, which will total around £7m over the next four years, which ABP is making to improve infrastructure at the Port of Swansea and support on-going business growth.

“Investing in major infrastructure improvements is essential for ensuring our ports are modern and fit-for-purpose. The new outer lock gates will mean that the Port of Swansea can continue to operate effectively for many years to come and will remain a contributor to both the Welsh and UK economy as it helps businesses to move their cargo from A to B,” said Matthew Kennerley, director, ABP South Wales.

“Ports by their very nature are constantly evolving to accommodate changes in cargo trends and the ability to be flexible is crucial to their success. It is therefore essential that we continually improve efficiency to ensure that our operations, and our customers’ operations, are as competitive as possible,” he added.

The Port of Swansea currently handles around 600,000 tonnes of cargo annually, primarily for the coal, paper, agricultural and recyclable sectors and is also the base for a specialist dry dock facility offering full ship repair and environmentally compliant vessel demolition.

Within the past six months, ABP has invested £1m in upgrading facilities at the fertiliser terminal in Swansea and will be announcing a series of additional investment in the coming years.

The lock gates are designed by Dutch specialist contactor Ravestein, which recently completed the special design, construction and installation of new inner lock gates at ABP’s Port of Cardiff.