Peel Ports Group is redeveloping the Eastfloat Terminal at Birkenhead port in the UK enabling it to handle a diverse range of cargoes, including heavy lift, project cargo, renewables and offshore equipment.
The GBP10 million (USD13 million) redevelopment will create around 300,000 sq ft (27,871 sq m) of indoor and 160,000 sq ft (14,864.5 sq m) of outdoor storage capacity, while expanding and modernising the site’s warehousing and cargo-handling facilities.
Operated by Peel Ports Logistics, the group’s dedicated logistics division, the upgraded facility will handle a diverse range of cargoes, including bulk, steel, timber, containerised cargo, heavy lift, project cargo and renewables and offshore equipment. A dedicated container handling and devanning operation, offering both indoor and outdoor storage, is already in place.
The works will take place over the coming years and operations will be supported by a dedicated onsite logistics division. Meanwhile, its close proximity to the port of Liverpool, which is also owned by the port operator, will enable the terminal to serve markets across the UK and overseas.
Investment in new plant and machinery for the terminal is also well under way, including the installation of a new Liebherr 180 crane.
Seb Gardiner, managing director at Peel Ports Logistics, said: “This investment reflects our commitment to bringing the Eastfloat Terminal back to life – we are both restoring its heritage and transforming it into a vibrant, modern logistics hub.
“The Mersey region is firmly at the heart of UK trade, and restoring Eastfloat will allow us to keep meeting the demands of the most complex and challenging cargo movements.”
The terminal’s transformation is part of Peel Ports Group’s ongoing strategy to expand its logistics and port services. The group is set to invest GBP100 million (USD135.5 million) to expand its national steel and metals multimodal hubs in a bid to enhance capacity and boost the efficiency of logistics, and has earmarked a further GBP10 million (USD13 million) into its Great Yarmouth site, which is being repositioned as the port of East Anglia. The latter will be used to redevelop the port’s Northern Terminal, helping to accommodate the next generation of major offshore wind projects across the region.
