Peterhead Port Authority (PPA) has awarded the contract for the Inner Harbour Redevelopment Project worth more than £30million to a joint venture partnership between civil engineering contractor, McLaughlin & Harvey and dredging contractor, Boskalis Westminster.

The £50million Inner Harbour Redevelopment Project is part of the largest development in the history of the port.

It has been supported by a £5million grant from the European Maritime Fisheries Fund and the Scottish Government and a commercial loan from Santander UK plc. PPA chief executive Ian Laidlaw said that the award of the contract was a sign of the confidence that Peterhead Port Authority had in the future of Peterhead as a major player in the fishing, oil and gas and decommissioning industries as well as the port being an important strategic asset to the economy of the North-east of Scotland.

He added that the announcement of the project was the culmination of three years of detailed planning and design work. The project involves the strengthening and deepening of the inner harbours, land reclamation with revetment, widening of the harbour entrance and demolition works.

Works already completed in readiness for the harbour deepening have included demolition of the old Greenhill Fish Market and upgrading of electrical, gas and water services throughout the Port. As well as creating deep water access to the inner harbours, realignment of key structures will improve access to the inner harbours to facilitate larger and deeper drafted vessels. In particular, access will be improved to the proposed a new and upgraded fish market in the North Harbour.

The increased capacity and improved facilities at the new market will capitalise on the recent record landings and strong prices seen in recent months.

All of the dredged material from deepening of the harbours will be used to create a 25,000m2 reclamation area for future development. While maximising the use of existing resources, this also achieves the most environmentally beneficial use of the dredged material. The Harbour Redevelopment Project will be completed in 18 months and has been structured to allow the port to continue to operate without disruption.

It will create more than 100 full time jobs with a number of local companies and businesses being involved in the project. In addition, a significant proportion of the materials used in the project will be sourced locally.