CONSTRUCTION of the latest multi-storey car park for vehicles leaving the port of Southampton has started and will take nine months and create 3,000 additional spaces.

Representatives from BMW Group, one of the main automotive customers at the port, and builders Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure visited the site at Eastern Dock to mark the beginning of the construction work.

The new £15 million facility, ext to the existing Orient Terminal, will provide storage on six levels, including the ground floor.

This is the eighth multi-deck at the port – which is the UK's hub for the automotive trade, handling trade worth £40 billion each year – and the third of four new car parks to be built in recent years to cater for for the growing number of vehicles passing through the port.

Every month, Southampton supports 11 shipping lines which make 150 calls to 54 ports in 41 countries.

By the time the car park building programme is completed the port will be able to hold 55,000 vehicles at any one time.

ABP Southampton Director, Alastair Welch, said: “We continually invest in facilities at the port to meet the growing demands of the automotive industry into the future. We’re pleased to work with BMW Group and other automotive partners to support their business demand for space.”

Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure area director for the South, Jon Daines, said: “This is the sixth scheme we have delivered at The Port of Southampton and we’re delighted to be continuing this longstanding partnership as ABP continues its investment in this global automotive hub.

"We’re proud to have the opportunity to utilise our expertise to strengthen this key UK asset and look forward to delivering the next phase of expansion.”