There was a dazzling display of fireworks over the site of the new terminal, the two footballing legends were invited to symbolise the great benefits that Liverpool2 – along with Peel Ports’ investments in port hubs along the Manchester Ship Canal – will bring to both the cities of Liverpool and Manchester.

Liverpool2 will see post-Panamax vessels of up to 13,500 TEU to call directly at the Port of Liverpool when it opens in 2015 – the same year the widening of the Panama Canal is due to be completed.

The deep water terminal will attract some of the world’s largest container vessels to a centrally-located UK distribution hub and a population of 35 million consumers within a radius of 150 miles. Peel Ports’ £300 million investment will enable container ships from around the world to connect directly with the northern half of the UK and Ireland, and so serve a market estimated at around 4 million TEUs a year.

Of the £300 million overall construction cost for Liverpool2 £150 million has been funded with a twenty-year European Investment Bank (EIB) loan. Jonathan Taylor, Vice President of the European Investment Bank, and amongst the guests at the launch celebration, said that the Luxembourg-based organisation is committed to supporting infrastructure investment. He said: “Liverpool2 will enhance operations of the Port of Liverpool, one of Europe’s leading ports, and enable access by the next generation of larger ships.

The construction programme will include:

• A new 854 metre-long quay wall with some 30,000 cubic metres of concrete required for the capping beam.

• 15,000m of steel piles weighing in at around 20,000 tonnes.

• Approximately three million cubic metres of infill will be needed to create the planned new container area which will require 230,000 square metres of new surfacing, 6,100m of new crane rails and 3,500 metres of new roads.

• The project will require eight ship to shore cranes and 27 rail mounted gantry cranes, and around 2,500m of new fencing will be needed as work gets underway.