THE Port of Tilbury welcomed Maritime Minister, Mike Kane today (Thursday, 6 February) for a briefing and tour of the port, where, through significant private investment, plans are being developed to further expand within the Thames Freeport land area to support their major markets.

The Port of Tilbury is working on plans on a 100 acres site to the east of the existing port at Tilbury2 to expand the port related activities on the back of market demand.

To be called Tilbury3, the investment will create and sustain skilled jobs and support the current and future needs of its customers in renewables, recycling and logistics. Tilbury3 is within the Thames Freeport tax site land area.

The Minister also met with apprentices and graduates and was accompanied by Forth Ports' Chief Executive, Stuart Wallace, Paul Dale, Chief Operating Officer and Peter Ward, Commercial Director, allowing the Minister to see for himself the skills and training opportunities offered throughout the Forth Ports Group as he toured the port's state-of-the-art training simulator suite.

Maritime Minister, Mike Kane said: "It was fantastic to visit the Port of Tilbury today to see the sheer extent of their operations and to meet with their apprentices and graduate students.

Maritime Minister Mike Kane (third from right) with Forth Ports apprentices and graduates in the historic Tilbury railway station at the Port of Tilbury

"I very much welcome their expansion plans for Tilbury3, which will help strengthen trade links with other countries, boost economic growth and support the skills and jobs needed for the future."

Stuart Wallace, CEO of Forth Ports, welcomed the Maritime Minister's visit and said: "We were pleased to welcome the Minister to the port today to brief him on our future expansion plans and the offshore renewables opportunities on the horizon.

"The success and growth of the Port of Tilbury is intertwined with the growth of the green circular, South East and Greater London economies. 

"The proposed expansion of our operations into Tilbury3, which is backed by substantial shareholder investment and Thames Freeport investment incentives, will support growing customer demand for new or expanded facilities – delivering more high quality employment to the local area."