§ Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the amount and budget sources of public funding spent, and the elements of works for which they were used, in the construction of the Wentloog rail freight terminal in Cardiff. [HL2537]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)My honourable friend Mr. Peter Hain MP, the Minister responsible for Transport in Wales, announced on 14 May that construction work on the new European Railfreight Terminal at Wentloog, Eastern Cardiff, will commence on 14 June 1999 and should be completed within 12 months.
This project is of vital importance to Wales. It will increase the competitiveness of Welsh business by establishing direct links to key European markets as well as making a significant contribution to the Government's objective of transferring freight traffic from road to rail.
The project is being brought forward by a public/private sector consortium consisting of the Welsh Office, Welsh Development Agency, City and County of Cardiff, Freightliner Ltd, Railtrack plc and Euro Clad Ltd. The project will cost £15 million, broken down as follows:
- Welsh Office/Welsh Development Agency—£5.0 million
- City and County of Cardiff—£1.0 million
- European Regional Development Fund—£3.0 million
- Railtrack plc—£3.0 million
- Freightliner Ltd—£0.5 million.
and a further £2.5 million, mostly comprising land value, provided by Euro Clad Ltd, Freightliner Ltd, and City and County of Cardiff.
Discussions on the final terms of the project are continuing, but it is likely that the bulk of the public sector funding will be incurred on constructing the terminal itself; Railtrack plc will meet the cost of the connection works to the mainline; and Freightliner Ltd will meet the cost of refurbishing and relocating crane facilities from its existing Pengam deport.