UK terminal operator Portico Shipping has secured a GB£20 million (US$26 million) investment for Portsmouth’s major cargo terminal.
Portico Shipping’s owner Portsmouth City Council has approved the investment proposal, which followed an independent report of Portico’s business, which concluded that capital investment would provide the best financial return for the Council, forecast to be GBP£30.1 million (US$39.1 million) over the next 20 years.
Steve Williams, Portico’s managing director, said: “This capital investment secures the future of Portico, allows us to expand our services even further and provides certainty for our major customers.”
Recommendations include working more closely with teams at Portsmouth International Port and developing Portico to manage an increase in opportunities by creating a port services provider, Portico Services.
Portico claims it is the UK market leader for banana imports and has a growing cargo portfolio, which includes containerisation, aggregates, agribulks, project cargo and general ad hoc cargo. Portico has recently expanded its specialist services, with the launch of Portico Logistics, a customs agency, freight forwarding, transport and warehousing division.
The investment aims to change the site layout to handle cargo more efficiently and create more space and new equipment to meet a growing portfolio general cargo.
