Monday, October 28, 2019

New Riverside Terminal to Support Supply Chain for London Construction Industry

Thames Port Expands to Improve Logistics in South East England
Shipping News Feature

UK – Tilbury2, the latest extension to the Thames side Port of Tilbury is to be the site of the UK's largest construction materials aggregates terminal in a partnership between site owners Forth Ports and the sustainable building materials and construction solutions business Tarmac.

Work on the Tilbury2 site, situated on the north side of the river, began following approval under a development consent order (DCO) from the Planning Inspectorate to build a new terminal adjacent to its current port in Thurrock. The new, privately funded port is being built on a 152 acre site and it is envisaged that Tilbury2 will act as a satellite of the main port.

This current phase will see the creation of new aggregate processing and manufacturing facilities, including an asphalt and ready mix concrete plant at the new port terminal, supported by Tilbury’s deep sea capacity for vessels up to 100,000 tonnes. Its riverside location will enable the easy import of raw materials and facilitate the use of the River Thames as a delivery route for processed construction materials into Central London. Martin Riley, senior vice president of Tarmac, said:

“We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Forth Ports on this project. It demonstrates our firm commitment to the development of industry leading infrastructure to support the delivery of the UK’s long-term built environment ambitions.”

Tilbury2 will feature a RoRo ferry terminal to ship both containers and trailers as well as the new Construction Materials and Aggregate Terminal (CMAT) for importing, processing, manufacturing and distributing construction materials. Tarmac’s Mark Wood, managing director. Materials South, commented:

“This exclusive development will ensure the long-term security of aggregate supplies into London and the South East, allowing us to support vital construction projects while using alternative transportation methods for the movement of materials, taking vehicles off the congested roads around the capital and using the Thames as a means of importing aggregates and other bulk materials into London.”

The development opens up the possibility of extending the barge traffic so suited to this type of cargo and one which which we have seen used more of late. The new agreement was praised by Peter Ward, Commercial Director at the Port of Tilbury who said he looked forward to the opening after the joint development of the site proceeds this year with the object of establishing most operations by the end of 2020. Charles Hammond, Chief Executive of Forth Ports, added:

“Our investment in the development of Tilbury2 is essential for the Port of Tilbury to accommodate the growing demand from our customers. This announcement sees the creation of the country’s biggest construction materials processing hub in partnership with Tarmac, the UK’s largest supplier of construction materials, and is a valued addition to the broad range of partnerships we have right across our Tilbury facility.”

Photo: Tilbury2 seen in a current aerial shot.