Stephen Morgan MP has welcomed Portsmouth International Port’s (PIP) new 20-year masterplan, launched earlier today.
The £92m 20-year Masterplan is expected to generate £739m over next ten years and secure over 11,000 jobs over the next 20.
£357m is expected to be generated for the local economy by 2042, up from roughly £187m it currently does now.
The Masterplan that will focus on:
- Expansion of port land to cater for increase in unaccompanied freight
- Extension of berth to cater for ships up to 300m
- Extension to 25m for ships exiting the port
- Creation of out-of-city pre gate and storage facilities
- Smart technology to manage cargo and passenger flow
- Sustainable infrastructure to manage alternative power demands
- Achieve net zero by 2030
- Facilitate a new electric ferry service
- Upgrade facilities at international cargo terminal Portico
- New Border Control Post
Mr Morgan lobbied government on behalf of PIP for £32m of funding in October 2020 from the government’s Port Infrastructure Fund, to prepare for new customs arrangements, allowing it to adapt to the government’s own new Border Operating Model.
However, the city port was only handed £17.1m of what it asked for – leaving a very large of shortfall of at least £7m and many businesses dependent on the port in the dark.
Government has also so far ignored the port’s further request for funding for all its originally planned new Border Control Points, and without it, the port will have no facility to use to check the 30,000 breeding animals that are expected to come through each year.
The Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South, Stephen Morgan, said:
“Portsmouth Port’s success is our city’s success, so I am delighted to learn how it will continue to create thousands of jobs, supporting our local economy and our national prosperity for many more years to come.
“The port’s new masterplan offers an exciting and ambitious future for Portsmouth, supporting the next generation through good quality work at a key asset for our city, providing lifelong career opportunities for local young people to take pride in.
“I am proud that the city’s port is putting environmental ambitions at the centre of its plans, working with partners who share these values, as they have a moral obligation to future generations to do so.
“As a council-owned port, society and economy must go hand in hand, and it also means that decisions can be made based on wider benefits.
“I’ve been relentlessly lobbying ministers to get the support our port needs, but government has continued to short-change our city. I will continue to speak up for the port to secure the investment it deserves.
“The delivery of these plans is now essential to ensure Portsmouth International Port remains one of the prize assets of our city and the country that we can all be proud of. I look forward to continuing to support these efforts to ensure it happens.”
The City MP was particularly supportive of targets included within the plan to reach carbon net-zero by 2030, and become the UK’s first zero emission port by 2050.
