The Infrastructure Revolution: Ports

As part of the government’s ongoing commitment to support an infrastructure revolution, major investments have been made into the various different subsectors of the wider British infrastructure network, with one of these subsectors being ports.

In spite of being one of the less discussed categories of the British infrastructure network, ports have experienced a sudden surge in importance with the looming possibility of Brexit throwing trade, and therefore ports, to the forefront of the government’s priorities.

The Secretary’s Pledges

Ports can be described as having been overtaken by roads and railways on the list of government priorities but, in the wake of recent political uncertainty, a great emphasis has been placed upon upgrading any networks related to the import and export of goods in the United Kingdom.

On the same day that the Transport Secretary made his pledge that Government was “determined to deliver an infrastructure revolution”, he also visited Portsmouth International Port in Hampshire, to witness the extent of the infrastructure works that were taking place following recent investment.

This action in itself, of visiting a port on the same day that the announcement was made, bears testament to how much more important port infrastructure has become, and now even more so following the Secretary’s pledges of an ‘infrastructure revolution’.

Brexit

At the end of August, this year, the British Government and the Department for Transport set about allocating increasingly large sums of funding to British ports in preparation for Brexit.

This preparation includes the construction of improved transport and storage facilities, both in and around the ports, which can accommodate the greater number of vessels and cargo which will be stationary throughout the rigorous checks and processes that they will have to endure once Britain officially leaves the EU.

One of the first lots of funding to be delivered came in the form of £9M which was to be distributed between ports and local areas, with the county of Kent being the recipient of some £2.6M of the £9M total because of it containing a number of the country’s most significant and busiest ports, such as Dover, the Eurotunnel, Ashford and Ebbsfleet.

Not long after this, Secretary Grant Shapps established the Port Infrastructure Resilience and Connectivity (PIRC) competition which allowed local authorities to place bids for shares of a £10M fund for the improvement of port infrastructure.

By the end of September, sixteen ports were announced as successful bidders for shares of the funding, with the full list of ports including: Felixstowe, Harwich, Southampton, Portsmouth International, Plymouth, Poole, Newhaven, Immingham, Hull, Teesport, Heysham, Liverpool, Bristol, Sheerness, London Gateway, and Dover.

Secretary Shapps stated: “Our world-leading maritime ports are fundamental not only to our success as a global trading nation but also to people’s everyday lives, bringing vital goods into the country.

“This timely investment will support ports across the country in their work to boost capacity and efficiency, ensuring they are ready for Brexit and a successful future.”

As a result of this renewed focus upon port infrastructure by the Government, it could be said that the pledges of an ‘infrastructure revolution’, at the same time as the aforesaid funding, are only coming about as a result of Brexit.

It could be argued that infrastructure would have likely fallen by the wayside without Brexit, and so the ‘infrastructure revolution’ itself is not only a response to Brexit but is also a direct product of it.

Civil engineers and contractors can therefore take some solace out of the likelihood that, as Brexit approaches ever closer, their immediate pipelines, particularly those focused around port infrastructure, will benefit from the work that it will create.

The British Ports Association Conference

It was also lately announced that the British Ports Association (BPA) Conference will take place between the 15^th and 18^th October at Belfast Harbour, for the first time in history.

The conference will host approximately 300 delegates from across the country who will attend to hear speeches by Shanker Singham, one of the world’s leading trade and competition lawyers and Chairman of the Technical Panel of the UK Alternative Arrangements Commission, Eamon Butler, Director and Co-Founder of the Adam Smith Institute, and Brian Johnson, CEO of the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The Chief Executive of the British Ports Association, Richard Ballantyne stated: “2019 has seen the ports industry front and centre of a range of political issues – from trade and freeports to the environment and climate change… Ports are critical to our economy – handling 95 per cent of all trade and employing 115,000 people. They are hubs of regional and local economic activity and often a big part of local culture and identity.”

Speeches and discussions at the event will cover a variety of subjects, with a special focus upon Brexit and sustainable development as reasons for ports being included as an important part of the government’s new ‘infrastructure revolution’.

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