Associated British Ports opened the Port of Immingham''s new £ 59.5m dedicated coal handling facility, Humber International Terminal 2, with a ceremony presided over by HRH The Princess Royal. During her visit, HRH was taken on a guided tour of HIT 2 by ABP group chief executive Bo Lerenius and ABP port director for Grimsby & Immingham, Nick Palmer.
Situated near six important British coal fired power stations, including Drax, the country's largest power station, HIT 2 was developed to meet the power generation industry's growing demand for coal. To secure the financial success of the terminal project, ABP signed agreements with mining giant BHP Billiton, as well as power station operators International Power, Scottish and Southern Energy, Drax Power and EDF Energy.
The berth, which took 23 months to build, extends HIT's total quay length by 220m for a total of 520m and can accommodate vessels carrying more than 100,000 tons of cargo.
Equipped with modern dockside plant and fully automated landside operations, the terminal will be able to handle an estimated 9.5m tons of coal per year, imported from the USA, South Africa, Indonesia, Poland and Russia. The majority will be transported from the port to end users by train.
HIT 2 is the second phase of development of Humber International Terminal. Opened by The Princess Royal in October 2000, the first phase of the riverside terminal was built to receive deep sea dry bulk carriers. The facility has handled some 25 million tons of cargo since opening.
MJ Information No: 22016
