§ Mr. Ian Lloydasked the Minister of Transport (1) how many port authorities have sought her approval for container berth schemes; and if she will give details of these proposed schemes including their estimated cost, the proposed number of container berths in each scheme, the location of the separate schemes, and the date when it is expected that the new berths will come into operation;
Authority Location Number of berths Approx. Cost per berth Date of coming into operation £m. Port of London Authority Tilbury … … 5 Deep-sea (plus 3 similar berths for forest products in unit loads) 2.5 January—Decembe 1968 1 Short-sea … … 1.3 April, 1968 Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Liverpool Gladstone Graving Dock 1 Deep-sea (temporary facility) 1.0 September, 1968 Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Seaforth … … 3 or 4 deep-sea … … 2.5–2.7 From early in 1971 British Transport Docks Board Southampton … 1 Deep-sea … … 2.5 September, 1968 British Rail Harwich (Parkeston Quay) 1 Short-sea … … 1.5 March, 1968 Clyde Port Authority Greenock … … 1 Deep-sea … … 2.4 October, 1968 My right hon. Friend's authority was not required for a number of other container facilities, mainly short-sea but including five berths suitable for deep-sea use. She is still considering the Port of Bristol Authority's West Dock proposal: this could include one or more container berths if required at an approximate cost of £3.5 million upwards per berth. There is also a possibility that a deep-sea berth at Newport authorised for general cargo at a cost of rather more than £1 million might be made available for container services.