Jim Fitzpatrick MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Transport, officially opened Associated British Ports’ (ABP) new seven million pound car-handling facility – the European Vehicle Terminal (EVT) – at the Port of Southampton at the beginning of February 2009. The unofficial opening of the EVT reaffirms that Southampton is the United Kingdom’s number-one port for vehicle imports and exports.
The new terminal will house up to 2,500 new cars for export to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The terminal is built on five levels and the footprint is just less than one hectare – indicative of ABP’s commitment to intensify the use of the existing dock estate as part of an ongoing sustainable development strategy. The EVT also features office space, wash-down facilities and car transporter unloading areas.
Southampton became the first British port to construct a multi-deck vehicle storage terminal in 2002, allowing the density of cars stored per acre to be increased five-fold. The new EVT is the third terminal of its kind to be built in the last six years. This strategy of multi-deck storage has allowed ABP to create more than 26 additional acres of “space in the sky,” thereby securing Southampton’s future as a leading hub for vehicle imports and exports.
