THE owners of Newport Docks have repeated their concerns over the proposed route of the M4 Relief Road.

Associated British Ports (ABP) reiterated its fears over the proposed ‘black route’ for the £1bn M4 relief road, which is set to be debated by the Senedd today.

Director of ABP South Wales, Matthew Kennerley, commented: “As an owner and operator of ports across the whole of south Wales, we recognise the need for action to tackle the current congestion problems which surround the M4 at Newport.

“However, we are very concerned about the impact that the favoured ‘black route’ will have as it will significantly reduce the existing capacity, as well as limiting future development opportunities at the Port of Newport.

“The proposed ‘black route’ involves constructing a bridge which would bisect the North and South Docks, creating a height restriction for vessels entering the North Dock. This would have a major impact on the size of the vessels that the dock could accommodate, with a report by global shipping consultancy, Safety at Sea, finding that 58% of vessels entering the North Dock during the period 2004-2008 would not have been able to access it if the proposed bridge, at an assumed height of 25m, had been in place.

“Looking to the future, this height restriction would be introduced against a backdrop of a global trend of increasing cargo and vessel size, which includes measures to meet the crew accommodation requirements of the new Marine Labour Convention, introduced a little earlier this year.

“The impact is not limited to the size of the vessels that the Port of Newport would be able to handle. The M4 bridge in its current proposed ‘black route’ position will also limit how mobile cranes and other large plant are deployed across different areas of the port, both when used for loading and unloading ships and for routine maintenance.

"There will also be a great deal of business interruption during the construction of the road and following the construction of a road through the port, there could be restrictions on some of the types of cargo that the port can handle, meaning certain types of work could also be lost. All this is in addition to the impact of restricting existing use and potential development of 12 acres of port land that falls under the footprint of the new motorway.

“We are committed to investing in the Port of Newport, indeed more than £10m has been invested in the last 18 months alone, including a warehouse that will be constructed later this year, and are in the process of developing a 20-year Port Development Masterplan for the port. However, the current proposals for the M4 relief road represent a real threat to these plans.”

ABP has proposed an alternative crossing point several hundred metres further north of the current ‘Black Route’ proposal, which would have a less severe impact on the current operations and future development of the port. However, this has not, so far, been accepted by the Welsh Government.