The owner of the North-East's largest port is campaigning for the Government to help finance an investment of £300m that will create up to 7,000 jobs and transform the fortunes of the region.

PD Ports is hoping to make the multi-million pound investment to develop a deep-water container terminal on the River Tees, allowing traffic from Asia and the Far East to dock and unload.

But the Government is considering giving permission to three crowded southern ports to develop similar facilities.

Now PD Ports is calling for it to develop a ports strategy that will allow more investment in the North rather than overdeveloping an already prosperous South-East.

The Government has said it will not outline a ports strategy until it has decided on the three southern applications - which PD Ports argues will seriously damage the North-East.

The Northern Echo is backing Teesport's argument for Government support for the jobs and investment - which could happen within three years - as part of a new campaign, Support Our Port.

Latest News

PD Ports takeover reaches final stages
THE takeover of Teesport operator PD Ports by Australian investment fund Babcock & Brown (BBI) could be complete within a week.

Race for port sites' expansion intensifies
THE race to bring thousands of jobs and millions of pounds worth of investment to the region intensified last night after the Government dealt a major blow to the expansion of a port.

Residents back petition for building of £300m terminal
RESIDENTS in an unemployment blackspot have submitted an 800-signature petition to the House of Commons in support of plans to expand Teesport.

PD Ports backing takeover offer from Australia
Teesport owner PD Ports is backing a takeover bid from Australian investor Babcock and Brown, it emerged at the weekend.

'Threat to £5bn' if port plans scuppered
MORE than £5bn of potential investment in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries could be threatened if the Government does not allow Teesport to expand, industry leaders warned last night.

New horizons as PD Ports agrees to £246m takeover
Teesport owner PD Ports is to be sold to a consortium of investors for £246m, it revealed yesterday.

£300m port expansion would create 7,000 jobs - if supported
TEESPORT owner PD Ports is lobbying the Government to halt further expansion at "overheated" Southern ports to allow it to invest £300m in a deep-sea container terminal on the Tees.

North is place to expand - report
Allowing any more ports in the South of England to expand would put enormous strain on road and rail networks in the South-East, a leading planning body has warned.

Port receives takeover offer
TEESPORT owner PD Ports last night confirmed it had received a takeover approach.

Pressure grows for port backing
Pressure was mounting last night on ministers after the North-East Assembly said it was fully behind Teesport's plans to bring 7,000 jobs to the region.

Spring target for plan to expand port
PD Ports said yesterday that its application to invest £300m in Teesport and create 7,000 jobs would be in the hands of the Government by the spring.

Who will follow in the wake of Asda?
The world's largest retailer announced yesterday that it had decided to build a £20m import centre at Teesport, favouring the North over crowded Southern ports. Business Editor Julia Breen looks at the impact this will have on Teesport's campaign to bring 7,000 jobs to the region

450 jobs at £30m centre for Asda
The world's largest retailer announced yesterday that it had decided to build a £20m import centre at Teesport, favouring the North over crowded Southern ports. Business Editor Julia Breen looks at the impact this will have on Teesport's campaign to bring 7,000 jobs to the region

Ministers lobbied over £300m port plan
LEADERS of the region's local authorities will today lobby the Government to support a £300m investment in the North-East's biggest port which could create up to 7,000 jobs and transform the region's economic fortunes.

'34,000 counting on port's growth
THE expansion of Teesport is essential to the future of the region's chemical industry and more than 34,000 jobs, a business leader said last night.

'Claims that South-East is not congested are barmy'
Claims by developers of a southern port that there is not a traffic problem in the South have been dismissed as "barmy" by Teesport owner PD Ports.

No time to lose with port plan
Teesport owner PD Ports last night vowed that no time would be lost in bringing forward plans that could create 7,000 jobs in the region.

Minister warned of risk to jobs
Further expansion of Southern ports would jeopardise a plan that could bring 7,000 jobs to the North-East, a Government minister was warned last night.

Blow to port expansion plans
The Government last night dealt a blow to the chance of 7,000 jobs at the North-East's largest port as it announced plans to allow the development of a port on the Thames near London.

Chamber members give their support
NEARLY 200 of the region's businesses have thrown their weight behind The Northern Echo's Support our Port campaign.

'Strategy is simply common sense'
Campaigners hoping to bring 7,000 jobs to the region have welcomed evidence that the Government is preparing a national ports strategy.

Calls made to fast-track £300m port expansion
Ports Minister Stephen Ladyman will be urged to fast-track a decision on £300m plans to expand Teesport at a meeting this month.

£300m expansion ahead of rival sites would help ease Southern discomfort
For the next few months, regeneration officials will be watching the fate of Teesport as it applies for permission for a £300m development that would bring 7,000 jobs. Business Editor Julia Breen looks at Teesport's case, and how it can chase off rival ports in the South.

PD Ports predicts steady growth
Ports and shipping group PD Ports expects to grow steadily in the next few years thanks to developments in the region.

Dear Mr Blair - are you going to support our N-E ports?
Campaigners hoping to bring 7,000 jobs to the region want top politicians - including Prime Minister Tony Blair - to declare their support for the plan.

Help us bring investment to region with port campaign
Thousands of businesses across the North-East are being urged to throw their weight behind The Northern Echo's Support Our Port campaign.

Tory pledge on UK's ports
The campaign to bring 7,000 jobs to the region moved to the top of the political agenda last night as the Conservatives pledged to devise a ports strategy if they were elected.

Teesport expansion bid boosted
THE battle to get Government support for the expansion of Teesport received a boost when Mr Blair said it "obviously has a very good case".

Port's expansion 'could wipe out unemployment'
A £300M investment at Teesport could almost wipe out the area's unemployment problems, Redcar MP Vera Baird said last night.

Give us a chance to generate 7,000 jobs
The owner of the North-East's largest port is campaigning for the Government to help finance an investment of £300m that will create up to 7,000 jobs and transform the fortunes of the region.

Help N-E port to bridge the gap
The economic divide between North & South needs to be addressed. The developments at Teesport could be a springboard that helps to narrow the prosperity gap.