Future looks bright with yet another new owner.

(From Lloyds List)

Byline: Changing hands will not dent confidence based on a record year for throughput, writes Felicity Landon

WITH steel volumes climbing rapidly and major investment in steel production on Teesside, a new import centre for Asda nearing completion, ro-ro volumes on the up and a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in the planning process, there is clearly plenty of room for optimism when it comes to port operations on Teesside.

Added to all these, the petrochemical sector, a vital part of Teesport's business, is seeing heavy investment, with construction of Huntsman's GBP200m ($354m) polyethylene plant under way, and PD Ports continues to promote its plans for a deepsea container terminal on the Tees.

The future ownership of the port operator now seems certain, too, with Babcock ' Brown's GBP337m bid for PD Ports declared unconditional so the port of Tees and Hartlepool is once again getting ready to change hands.

Long-time employees at the port have seen it all before, of course; this will be the fifth time in 14 years that the port has been sold, one points out, but each time very little actually changes on the ground.

Although final figures have yet to be confirmed, PD Ports says it is looking back on a record year for cargo throughput, with volumes through Tees ' Hartlepool last year expected to total 55.8m tonnes.