ABP says it invested a huge £5.4m into the Port of Ipswich in 2016, upgrading facilities and replacing equipment as tonnage figures show increased levels of cargo moving through the port in the last 12 months.
In 2016, the Port of Ipswich committed £2.2 million to the construction of a new 40,000 square foot bulk store which is due for completion in April. This will be used to meet the demands for additional agribulk storage where Ipswich is the UK’s most important export port.
Additionally, the port worked with local company Spirit Yachts to refurbish their existing property to give them the ‘best facility’ on the East Coast of the UK, providing £300,000 in funding for the project. The company also extended the lease of their facilities on the island site at Ipswich Wet Dock.
More than £1.6 million was spent on new equipment including five cargo handling grabs, four forklift trucks and a new Mantsinen tracked mobile high capacity crane which is due for arrival at the port early next month.
ABP Short Sea Ports Director Andrew Harston said: “2016 was a significant year for the Port of Ipswich. We were named the UK’s leading export port for agricultural products by the Department for Transport for the sixth consecutive year and our customers set a new grain handling record for tonnage in the 2015/16 harvest year.”
“The investment in the port is not only for ABP’s operations; our business depends on our customers and their success. We are committed to providing them with effective infrastructure and equipment, and in 2016 the team in Ipswich focussed on working with our customers to better meet their operational needs.
2016 end of year figures also showed that Ipswich handled 2.6 million tonnes of cargo through the port, a 13 per cent increase overall from 2015. More specifically, there was a 22 per cent increase of exported cargo handled at the port. In 2015, while just over one million tonnes of cargo was exported, last year saw over 1.25 million tonnes of exported cargo leave from Ipswich.
ABP Divisional Port Manager Paul Ager said: “Last year it was evident that there was a need to expand our infrastructure to meet the demands of the port and it is a tribute to our customers and all of the Port of Ipswich team that this has been the best year since 2010.”