Race against time to put liner terminal in place

Aug 16 2007 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

CONSTRUCTION giant Balfour Beatty last night said it was confident of putting Liverpool’s new cruise liner terminal in place within the next 24 to 48 hours.

However, it still faces a race to ensure it is operational in time for the visit of a string of major vessels, including the QE2, in September.

The £19m landing stage currently lies in a dry dock at Cammell Laird where it has undergone last minute checks and so-called snagging repairs.

A spokeswoman for Balfour told the Daily Post that discussions were now taking place about the exact timing for the stage to be moved across the Mersey.

Last week fears were raised that the platform may not be in place in time for the start of September, when a procession of cruise liners are due to visit Liverpool.

The biggest date is September 21 when the QE2 is to visit the Mersey for the official launch of the new stage as part of the famous vessel’s farewell tour. It also needs to be in place to allow the visit of HMS Ark Royal to Liverpool on September 14.

The Balfour spokeswoman said: “There are meetings taking place now to decide exactly when we will able to float the terminal into position.

“It does depend on factors like tides but the plan is to begin floating it in the next 24 to 48 hours.”

Once the stage is floated into position it will then have to be attached to a line of piles sunk into the river bed, and then the roadways linking the stage with the quayside will have to be lifted into place.

Safety trials and tests will then need to carried out, leaving little time before the arrival of the first vessels.

Yesterday, Balfour, which is the UK’s biggest construction firm, unveiled forecast-beating profits and a record order book worth more than £10bn. The company said underlying pre-tax profits were 36% higher at £76m for the first half of 2007.

In March the company announced it had won contracts worth £111m to design and build part of Grosvenor’s huge Liverpool One retail project in Liverpool.

A division of the company, Balfour Beatty Construction, will act as the main contractor for the eastern part of the £1bn Paradise Project.

The section will comprise 15 buildings including more than 50 new shops, 160 apartments and three commercial buildings, together with 550 car parking spaces and the refurbishment of other buildings, including Liverpool’s oldest Grade II-listed warehouse, for retail use.

tonymcdonough