Multimodal secures major presence from The Haven Gateway Partnership

The Haven Gateway Partnership was created in 2001, to provide a framework through which its partners - from both the public and private sectors - could work together to promote economic opportunities and secure the future prosperity of this international gateway to the UK.

Felixstowe, Harwich International, Harwich Navyard, Ipswich and Mistley together represent one of the largest and most important clusters of ports in the UK. Felixstowe is the UK's largest container port and the fifth largest in Europe, handling around 3.3 million teu (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2008, and around 40% of all UK container traffic.

The proximity of Stansted Airport adds to the Haven Gateway's significance as a business location and adds to the sub-region's importance as an International Gateway.

The ports, shipping, transport and logistics sector is a major employer in the area.

Our goals:

Within this sector, the partnership has identified six key goals, as laid out in our corporate plan - Smarter Solutions for Sustainable Growth and an update on progress was published as part of our 2008/9 Annual Report.

To support port development and expansion, including Hutchison Ports UK's £240 million Felixstowe South Regeneration (FSR), which will provide the deepest containership berths in the UK and bring Felixstowe's total annual capacity to 5.2 million teu. Hutchison Ports UK also has plans for a new container port at Bathside Bay, Harwich, although this is not expected until at least 2017.
To improve regional road and rail infrastructure and encourage the shift of freight from road to rail, with an upgraded Felixstowe to Nuneaton (F2N) being the major factor.
To play a leading role in the proposed Port-Net 2, an Interreg IVc project which will bring together a network of European ports to share challenges, experiences and best practice
To be a key partner in the European Dry Ports project, a cross-border programme looking at the development of logistics centres to support capacity and throughput of sub-regional ports
To develop the local cruise offer in partnership with Harwich International Port and BAA Stansted
To work with partners to raise the skills available within the ports and logistics sector, and promote the sector in schools

Dryport – A modal shift in practice

North Sea Dryport is an Interreg North Sea project that aims at shifting the transport of freight from road to rail and inland waterways. Dryports are the extensions of gateway ports in the inland or in other words: vital functions are moved from a harbour to a more or less remote freight combi-terminal.

What is a dryport?

A dryport is a hinterland intermodal freight transport hub. With effective planning and careful choice of location, dryports can significantly increase the capacity and efficiency of existing sea ports and provide them with vital support, while shifting traffic off the roads and on to rail or inland waterway wherever possible.
A dryport provides valuable space for logistics and onward distribution activities. Many sea ports have little room left to expand or they are adjacent to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so land available for logistics activities is limited.
The development of a dryport or combination of dryports helps local infrastructure to cope with increased demand as ports handle growing volumes of cargo.

The Dryport project

Dryport is a three-year public/private sector European project with core partners drawn from the ports and logistics sector and from local authorities representing important logistics areas.
The total funding for Dryport is €4,870,750. Of this, 50% is European funding and 50% is match funding from partners.
The region of Västra Götaland, in Sweden, is the lead partner in Dryport. As well as the Haven Gateway and Babergh District Council, other core partners are: the Port of Gothenburg, Sweden; Falköping Kommun, Sweden; the Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium; the Edinburgh Gateway, Gemeente Emmen, the Netherlands; and the Province of Friesland, the Netherlands.

Why Dryport benefits the Haven Gateway

Within the Dryport project, the Haven Gateway will be identifying suitable dryport sites. Road and rail links are being discussed, along with the possibility of setting up innovative short shuttle rail services to and from the port facilities.
As well as helping port capacity, Dryport will look at better planning to reduce the number of trucks on the roads. The Haven Gateway believes that careful planning of logistics sites can promote "greener" transport solutions.