§ Mr. ChurchillTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what port facilities are currently under construction for the purpose of handling bulk imports of foreign coal; and what public funds are being spent on these facilities or related rail or road infrastructure improvements.
§ Mr. NorrisThe development of bulk handling facilities suitable for importing foreign coal is a matter for individual ports. I understand that such facilities are under construction at present at Gladstone dock, Liverpool, Royal Portbury dock, Avonmouth, and Kingston Terminal, Hull.
There are no improvements to the road network directly related to these developments. The provision of rail infrastructure is a matter for the commercial judgment of British Rail, However, the Department of Transport will be paying for widening a railway bridge across the M5, under a legally binding agreement with British Rail entered into when the M5 was being built. The current estimated cost is £2.35 million.
At Hull, construction of associated rail facilities is being assisted under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 in recognition of the environmental benefits of distributing the product by rail rather than by road. The grant agreed was £226,000.