Posted on: 17 February 2016
The Secretary of State for Transport, The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, has today visited the Port of Dover in order to see first-hand the fantastic progress being made in building the resilience of this key international trade and passenger gateway.
Seeing the £100bn-of-trade-a-year port in operation, the Secretary of State explored the areas of major investment made by the Port in order to respond to 25% freight vehicle growth in just the past three years.
Tim Waggott, Chief Executive, Port of Dover, said: “I am delighted to welcome the Secretary of State to Europe’s busiest ferry port, to show him how we are supporting Britain’s trade growth and how, together with our ferry operator partners, we kept going during an unprecedented period of disruption in France last summer.
“The Port of Dover is handling record volumes of freight vehicle traffic and we have responded by building additional capacity to ensure we remain resilient. With government support we are commencing further major investment and will deliver further capacity to keep Dover resilient for the long term.
“We have built strong relationships with our ferry operator partners, we have built and continue to build the gateway to Europe, we have built a reputation for resilience and over the past three years have built the platform for Britain’s biggest trust port to deliver for Dover and the nation.”
Secretary of State for Transport, The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, said: “The Port of Dover is an essential part of our national transport infrastructure and a vital economic link with the continent. It is also a success story for the local area. The Port does an excellent job in keeping freight and passengers moving and is looking to the future with exciting plans for developing this crucial facility.”
