Peel Ports is welcoming the election of Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram, as a unique opportunity to create a new vision for the local economy.
The Metro Mayor paid his first visit to the Port of Liverpool, including the new Liverpool2 container terminal – which opened last year – on Monday.
He met CEO Mark Whitworth and COO Patrick Walters during a tour of the site, followed by a presentation on Peel Ports’ £750m package of investments in logistics infrastructure.
“Liverpool2 once again establishes Liverpool as a great global gateway opening up a new world of trade opportunities for the City Region and the wider UK,” said Rotheram.
“This is a transformational project creating jobs and business growth and is integral to the delivery of the Northern Powerhouse vision.
“Peel Ports’ investment is a huge expression of confidence in the area, underlining how important the maritime and logistics sectors are to our economy.
“My role will be to work with government and other agencies to make sure that we capitalise on the potential of projects like Liverpool2 to drive prosperity and build a successful and competitive City Region for the future.”
Whitworth added: “There are multiple organisations involved in promoting and facilitating business growth in the area.
“What’s really needed is a strong guiding hand to make sure their work is well coordinated and helping the region to achieve a shared vision.
“We’ve already seen how Manchester has benefited from a cohesive approach across the public and private sectors.
“We want to see exactly the same in the Liverpool City Region, and are pleased that the new Metro Mayor is as committed as we are to achieving the best for the region.
“However, there are major challenges ahead. Improved local transport connections, especially to and from the port, are critical but we also want to see better land availability and skills development for the sake of the broader business community.”
Peel Ports has started the second phase of its expansion programme at Liverpool2.