Page 18 - Sphere No.18 (Feb 2007)

AS UK CONSUMERS were getting ready to start
their Christmas shopping, the world’s largest con-
tainer ship, the Emma Maersk, docked at the Port
of Felixstowe. Aboard was a treasure trove of goods from
China, including digital cameras, play stations and MP3 play-
ers. If all the containers on the ship were lined up end to end
they would have stretched for 42 miles.
Felixstowe, on the Suffolk coast, is owned by Hutchison
Port Holdings (HPH) and handles over 40 per cent of all UK
trade. Of this, 50 per cent comes from Asia, predominantly
China. It is the UK’s largest container port and one of the
biggest in Europe.
It will begin a GBP240 million (HKD3.7 billion) redevelop-
ment this year to more than double its deep-sea container
handling capacity. When fully operational, the Felixstowe
South Reconfiguration project will create 621 jobs and a
further 860 in associated industries.
These are exciting times for Hutchison Ports (UK) as it
16 SPHERE
FELIXSTOWE KEEPS UK TRADE MOVING
has also received approval for the redevelopment of a site
adjacent to its Harwich International Port in Essex.The de-
velopment of Bathside Bay will provide an additional 0.8 mile
of deep-water container handling capacity and create 772
new jobs directly and a further 930 indirectly.
“International trade, and the size of the ships needed to
transport it, continues to grow at dizzying levels.The new de-
velopments at Felixstowe South and Bathside Bay will allow
Hutchison Ports (UK) to meet future demand from its cus-
tomers and will ensure that Felixstowe and Harwich continue
to be the vital arteries connecting the UK with the rest of the
world,” says HPUK Chief Executive Officer, Chris Lewis.
Felixstowe is important to the local community, pumping
over GBP90 million into the region’s economy each year
through wages and pensions alone. The Port also partici-
pates in the HPH Group’s Dock Schools Programme, mak-
ing donations to a number of primary schools and forging
links with two secondary schools.
■ Felixstowe began life as the Felixstowe Railway and
Pier Company in 1875, welcoming its first ship,
a coal carrier, in 1886.
■ Felixstowe has one of Europe’s longest
continuous quays – Trinity Terminal is
nearly 1.9 miles long.
■ Felixstowe handles around 5,000
ships and 1.75 million containers
a year. Up to 50,000 containers
can be stored at any one time.
■ It has 29 quay cranes - the
largest quay cranes are 260-foot
high and weigh a staggering 1,400
tonnes.
■ The port employs nearly 3,000
people and is one of the region’s largest
employers.
Home sweet home
While its utilities companies manage huge infrastruc-
ture networks underground, the property unit of HWL
is creating some striking structures above ground.
Since entering the UK market in 1995, HW Property
(Europe) has been involved with four prestigious de-
velopments, creating landmark buildings and some
600 homes in premier locations in London at a time
when real estate prices have reached historic highs.
“There is no question that London’s rising prices have
benefitedus,” saidRaymondChow, GroupManagingDi-
rector of Hutchison Whampoa Property in Hong Kong.
“The UK, and more importantly the London market, is
quite sophisticated and reacts to many factors, including
the economy, employment, taxation and interest rates.
Fortunately, stability in most of these factors in the last
few years has led to a buoyant, confident market.”
Hutchison collaborated with some of the biggest
names in British architecture, including Lord Richard
Rogers, who designed the Lloyds of London building,
and Lord Norman Foster, who designed the HSBC
headquarters in Hong Kong.
This year the company will embark on two huge proj-
ects that will breathe new life into underused sites on the
banks of London’s River Thames. Again big name archi-
tects are involved – Sir Terry Farrell, who designed the
integrated transportation centre at Inchon International
Airport in Seoul, Korea – is behind the Lots Road devel-
opment in Chelsea (see box overleaf) while the Richard
Rogers Partnership has developed the master plan for
Convoys Wharf in Deptford, South East London.
The redevelopment of Convoys Wharf, a 40-acre site
in a run down part of the capital, will create 3,500 new
homes. The scheme also incorporates a business park,