UK port operator PD Ports is interested in buying one of the UK’s trust ports if they were put up for sale by the government, ifw-net reports.
Speaking to IFW yesterday at the Multimodal exhibition, CEO David Robinson said the operator of Teesport was looking to expand its footprint and would consider purchasing a rival port.
He said: “One of the things we are now embarking on is looking outside what we normally do as a business to see how we can expand our footprint.
“Potential opportunities are trust ports and the UK market as a whole.”
However, he added: “It’s a government play as to how the trust ports will get privatised – if they get privatised – and those things are well beyond our control.
“There have long been talks about further consolidation of the port sector in the UK and I am pretty sure it will happen.
“We want to be a leader in that consolidation process, rather than a bystander.”
He said if PD?Ports was to make a purchase – trust port or otherwise – the port would need expertise in the same areas as Teesport.
Robinson also cited continued development of the container business, coastal shipping and the energy sector as other growth areas.
He also hoped that warehousing in and around the port would double to 240,000sq metres over the next three to five years.
He pointed out that Asda George was on the verge of signing a contract to develop a new warehouse facility near the port and a train production consortium was also planning a new port-centric facility.
Robinson also welcomed the news that a steel blast furnace near Teesport that was part-closed in January 2010 would be bought and re-opened by SSI.
At the time of the plant’s closure, Robinson said the facility brought in around 25% of Teesport’s volumes.
He said all the tonnage produced at the furnace, when it began operations in around six months, would be sent to Thailand, bolstering port volumes.
SSI is investing around US$1billion in buying and upgrading the facility, Robinson said.
Speaking to IFW yesterday at the Multimodal exhibition, CEO David Robinson said the operator of Teesport was looking to expand its footprint and would consider purchasing a rival port.
He said: “One of the things we are now embarking on is looking outside what we normally do as a business to see how we can expand our footprint.
“Potential opportunities are trust ports and the UK market as a whole.”
However, he added: “It’s a government play as to how the trust ports will get privatised – if they get privatised – and those things are well beyond our control.
“There have long been talks about further consolidation of the port sector in the UK and I am pretty sure it will happen.
“We want to be a leader in that consolidation process, rather than a bystander.”
He said if PD?Ports was to make a purchase – trust port or otherwise – the port would need expertise in the same areas as Teesport.
Robinson also cited continued development of the container business, coastal shipping and the energy sector as other growth areas.
He also hoped that warehousing in and around the port would double to 240,000sq metres over the next three to five years.
He pointed out that Asda George was on the verge of signing a contract to develop a new warehouse facility near the port and a train production consortium was also planning a new port-centric facility.
Robinson also welcomed the news that a steel blast furnace near Teesport that was part-closed in January 2010 would be bought and re-opened by SSI.
At the time of the plant’s closure, Robinson said the facility brought in around 25% of Teesport’s volumes.
He said all the tonnage produced at the furnace, when it began operations in around six months, would be sent to Thailand, bolstering port volumes.
SSI is investing around US$1billion in buying and upgrading the facility, Robinson said.