The facility will be constructed to accommodate a mix of travel and freight customers all year round. The investment also includes the addition of two large modern ferries when the port becomes fully operational on its Irish Sea service to Belfast Port. The new facility will cut the time it currently takes to turn vessels around at Stranraer in half.
Construction work at the new port is expected to take approximately 20 months creating over 900 jobs and will be completed by the autumn of 2011. The main contractor is Northern Ireland company McLaughlin & Harvey. A Harbour Empowerment Order (HEO) to allow the creation of the new port has just been approved by the Scottish Parliament. The new port facility represents the first in a number of projects across Scotland which have been assigned National Project status by the Scottish Government.
Speaking at a ceremony hosted by Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, Dan Sten Olsson, chairman of Stena Line outlined the importance of the development to the future prosperity of Scotland. He said, ‘Today is an historic day for the people of Scotland and indeed Northern Ireland. The investment we have announced will provide Scotland with a first class port facility which underlines and enhances the port’s prominence as the third largest gateway in the UK.
‘The link between Scotland and Northern Ireland provides a huge number of benefits for both countries. Tourism and freight business between Scotland and Northern Ireland has seen significant growth in recent years and despite the current difficult trading conditions, we are confident that an investment of this magnitude will pay dividends over the medium to long term. We believe that working in partnership with the Scottish Government and their counterparts in Northern Ireland we will have state of the art facilities that everyone can be proud of.’
Speaking at the announcement, First Minister Alex Salmond said, ‘This new development will safeguard and create 1,400 jobs and trigger significant investment in Dumfries and Galloway. The relocation of the port to the new Loch Ryan Port will also aid tourism with faster crossings between Scotland and Northern Ireland and help the regeneration of Stranraer as a major marine leisure area.’
The scope of works for the new port includes standing area for 190 unaccompanied dropped trailers, 350 accompanied cars and 50 commercial vehicles. A suspended deck jetty will be future proofed to accommodate 220m long vessels. There will also be a lay by berth facility. Dredging and piling contractors have yet to be chosen but the port will be dredged to 8.5m, with a separate channel and turning circle. Passenger facilities will include a modern terminal building and a passenger walkway.
