It will handle ocean going vessels of up to 210m in length drawing up to 12.8m.

F+Z is involved elsewhere in a quay and berth extension project it said was worth € 18.8m at Hamburg’s Burchardkai. It is also involved in the Bremerhaven CT 1V container terminal project, which it said was worth € 238.3m. F+Z also listed Kiel’s recently inaugurated Ostseekai Cruise and Ferry Terminal among its recent jobs and said that project had a volume of € 14.8m.

Lower Saxony Economics and Transport Minister Walter Hirche said the new facilities were ‘extremely important for the Lower Weser region’. He explained that they would lay the groundwork for further growth in the port.

The new quayside and berth will back onto a 30 hectare site with new storage, roads and rail track. Once complete it will bring port area to about 110 hectares of land and some 20 hectares of water.

Hirch said the planned deepening of the Lower Weser was one reason why firms wanted to settle in the Brake region. Another reason for the increased demand for industrial leases was because firms were attracted to the port’s good infrastructure, officials said.

Brake handled some 5.5m tons last year, mainly feedstuffs, grain, steel and iron, timber products, sulphur and building materials. Officials said it had reached maximum capacity with its existing facilities.

By Tom Todd