London: Prime minister David Cameron chose to launch his Economic Plan for the East of England yesterday from the UK’s largest container port, Felixstowe.
“The extraordinary scale of the trade you are pioneering is not just fundamental to success in this region, it’s fundamental to the success of the whole country,” the prime minister commented. “And with your exports to the fast-growing Asian markets up by two-fifths in the last five years alone, that is exactly what you are helping to do.
“Put simply, you are increasing Britain’s footprint in the world. Your success is one part of an exciting story of economic recovery that is beginning to take place right across the East of England,” he continued.
The prime minister took a tour of the port, where he saw Cosco-operated ultra-large containership CSCL Saturn (14,071 teu, built 2011) being worked at the port’s Berths 8&9.
He also took a look at the ongoing expansion of these berths, which will allow more ultra-large boxships to be handled simultaneously.
“We were able to show the prime minister how the continued investments we are making at Felixstowe are helping support UK economic growth and create more jobs,” said Clemence Cheng, CEO at the Port of Felixstowe.
The East of England has seen the fastest growth in employment of any English region outside London since the last election. Cameron’s economic plan for the region plan aims to create 250,000 new jobs by 2020, and will invest £4.2bn in transport infrastructure.
