The volume of cargo handled at Tilbury will increase to 32 million tonnes a year

The Port of Tilbury on the Thames in Essex has been given the green light for a £200 million expansion.

The latest development will lift the volume of cargo to 32 million tonnes a year, double where it was in 2012 when expansion began.

The port will get a new roll-on, roll-off terminal for importing both containers and lorry trailers with P&O Ferries, new storage facilities for the import and export of cars and a new freight train terminal. It also will become Britain’s largest processing hub for construction materials.

The complex is the largest asset of Forth Ports, which operates eight British ports including Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth. It was listed on the stock market but is now owned by private equity.