Plans to sell Port of Dover
Ferry Online Travel News 11/12/2009
Ferry port to Europe may be privatised
The Port of Dover could possibly be sold in a government bid to raise funds to help fill the budget deficit.
Government documents reveal it is one of six ports that might be sold, with proposals for the port described as the furthest advanced.
Gwyn Prosser, Labour’s MP for Dover, has promised to fight the plan, saying that he feared job losses would be inevitable. He went on to say that there were all sorts of unknown with the privatisation plans and that he would be on the street campaigning as they did in the past.
However Bob Goldfield, chief executive of the harbour, believes the plan would be advantageous for the community, saying that the regeneration of the port would unlock value for the local community.
The Port of Dover is second busiest cruise terminal in the UK, serving 274,000 passengers each year, and the largest port for passenger ferries in northern Europe.
The port has been a trust port for around 400 years, and with no shareholders, all profits go back into redeveloping and maintenance of the port.
In 2008, workers at the harbour protested when their jobs went onto the hand of private companies.
← Britons now exercise savvier driving habits | Index | Aer Lingus faces two major blows →