The Wearside economy today received a welcome boost with the opening of a major industrial unit at the Port of Sunderland.
The 20,000 sq ft warehouse was commissioned by Sunderland City Council after the purchase of a new harbour mobile crane last year.
Councillors said it was a sign of the growing confidence in the port and its trading activities.
The warehouse is needed to cater for increased imports of wood pulp from the Scandinavian-based company Sodra, the port's principal customer for the wood pulp trade.
The new facility at Hendon Dock will also allow the port to cater for business from other wood pulp importers.
Coun James Blackburn, portfolio holder for planning and transportation, said: "The construction of new storage facilities to increase capacity for trade at the Port of Sunderland is in line with the aims of the council and its partners to create a prosperous city, one of the key priorities of the Sunderland Strategy.
"This is a further demonstration of our confidence in the port, which we're sure the residents and businesses of Sunderland will welcome."
The method of construction used on the warehouse is new to the port.
Built by principal contractor SGW Construction Redcar Ltd, the warehouse is a steel-framed building with a fabric skin. This is a tried and tested method of construction, used in port environments for many years.
Earlier this year, the Echo reported that the council set aside £700,000 to build the warehouse at the port to cater for its biggest customer.
Sodra, which has a £6million three-year contract with the port, imports more than 100,000 tonnes of wood pulp a year into the UK via Sunderland – and a boom in trade meant storage facilities had become stretched.
The new storage facility came after the council took delivery of a new Leibherr crane for the port last year, primarily for handling wood pulp, timber and aluminium at Hendon Dock.
The 20,000 sq ft warehouse was commissioned by Sunderland City Council after the purchase of a new harbour mobile crane last year.
Councillors said it was a sign of the growing confidence in the port and its trading activities.
The warehouse is needed to cater for increased imports of wood pulp from the Scandinavian-based company Sodra, the port's principal customer for the wood pulp trade.
The new facility at Hendon Dock will also allow the port to cater for business from other wood pulp importers.
Coun James Blackburn, portfolio holder for planning and transportation, said: "The construction of new storage facilities to increase capacity for trade at the Port of Sunderland is in line with the aims of the council and its partners to create a prosperous city, one of the key priorities of the Sunderland Strategy.
"This is a further demonstration of our confidence in the port, which we're sure the residents and businesses of Sunderland will welcome."
The method of construction used on the warehouse is new to the port.
Built by principal contractor SGW Construction Redcar Ltd, the warehouse is a steel-framed building with a fabric skin. This is a tried and tested method of construction, used in port environments for many years.
Earlier this year, the Echo reported that the council set aside £700,000 to build the warehouse at the port to cater for its biggest customer.
Sodra, which has a £6million three-year contract with the port, imports more than 100,000 tonnes of wood pulp a year into the UK via Sunderland – and a boom in trade meant storage facilities had become stretched.
The new storage facility came after the council took delivery of a new Leibherr crane for the port last year, primarily for handling wood pulp, timber and aluminium at Hendon Dock.