ABP to Inject GBP 50 Mn in Southampton Port’s Vehicle Handling

UK port operator Associated British Ports (ABP) plans to invest GBP 50 million (USD 66 million) in vehicle handling facilities at the country’s Port of Southampton.  

The phased investment is aimed at supporting “the continued growth of UK exports through Southampton.” 

The first GBP 25 million tranche of the investment will deliver two new vehicle handling facilities, together capable of storing 7,600 vehicles.

The second phase of investment will see further two facilities built. Once finalized, the investment will add a further 15,000 spaces to the port’s capacity and take the total number of vehicle handling facilities in Southampton to nine, capable of carrying 55,000 vehicles.

“Southampton is the UK’s number one port for exports, handling exports worth some GBP 40 billion, and it is the UK’s number one for vehicle exports,” James Cooper, ABP Chief Executive, said.

With more than 900,000 vehicles passing through in 2015, including around 520,000 for export, the Port of Southampton leads in vehicle handling, taking into account other ports in the country.

According to Alastair Welch, ABP Director, Southampton, “ABP has already invested more than GBP 32 million over the past five years to support the growth in vehicle exports.”

ABP operates a network of 21 ports across England, Scotland and Wales.