UPGRADING the Port of Liverpool to be able to handle the biggest ships in the world looks set to finally start next year.

Port owners Peel delayed the £100m post-Panamax dock expansion plans when the credit crunch hit.

But development director Lindsey Ashworth told delegates at the Mipim conference in Cannes that the company was likely to start work in 2011.

It had originally hoped the new terminal – capable of handling ships of up to 100,000 tonnes – would be open by now as a vital part of continuing the expansion of the city's thriving port, but Peel said it would not start until the market was right.

Mr Ashworth also revealed that Peel will submit a planning application for its £5.5bn Liverpool Waters skyscraper scheme – the largest urban regeneration project in the UK – in late April or early May.

The waterfront scheme is proposed to transform derelict dockland to the north of the city into a vibrant commercial and residential hub covering more than 150 acres.

Yesterday the Daily Post revealed how 1,000 jobs in the distribution sector are set to come to the city in the coming months as part of the continuing drive to create a “superport” in the region.

Mr Ashworth said Peel had recognised Liverpool's potential for growth is enormous.

It owns Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, which controls huge swathes of land on the banks of the Mersey, and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. “Peel recognised a few years ago the massive potential for growth in the North West as a bipolar region with more than one urban centre – Manchester and Liverpool,” he said.

“They have potential individually, but more so if they work together.