New facility hails ongoing Port transformation

The Port of Dover's new Inbound Tourist Control Facility was officially unveiled by Sir Charles Montgomery, Director General of Border Force, at a ceremony held at the Port's Eastern Docks on Thursday (20 November 2014).

The new facility is a key milestone in the ongoing development of the Traffic Management Improvement (TMI) project that is transforming Europe's leading ferry port.

TMI is part of an £85 million upgrade programme focused on the Eastern Docks, which is being delivered at the same time the Port has recently committed to investing up to £120 million in phase one of the Dover Western Docks Revival Project, the biggest single investment ever made by the Port. Together, such investments are transforming the Port for the benefit of its customers and community.

Sir Charles said: "I am extremely impressed by the quality of the facilities and infrastructure. It is an extraordinary transformation taking place at the Port of Dover. With the growing relationship developing between Border Force and the Port, it was an honour and privilege to be at the Port for the official unveiling."

Tim Waggott, Chief Executive of the Port of Dover, welcomed the guests and outlined the significance of TMI to the Port's ongoing development.

"This is another important step in the ongoing transformation of the Port of Dover. We are creating an additional four kilometres of lanes, a holding facility for 220 freight vehicles and removing the bottlenecks within the Port. The scheme is due for completion in late 2015 and we will see the re-routing of traffic flows, new variable messaging services and lane control and the significant bonus of reducing congestion and air pollution in the external road network.

"The Port of Dover is changing and we are at the forefront of developing a port we can all be proud of by working together with our partners to be the best port in the world."

Top photo shows (left to right): Tim Waggott, Port of Dover Chief Executive, George Jenkins OBE, Chairman of Dover Harbour Board and Sir Charles Montgomery, Director General of Border Force.

Bottom photo shows Tim Waggott, Port of Dover Chief Executive (5th from left), Paul Morgan, Border Force South East & Europe Director, Sir Charles Montgomery, Director General of Border Force and George Jenkins OBE, Chairman of Dover Harbour Board (2nd from right), with representatives from the operators, Border Force and Port personnel.