ABP invests £10 million to repair Swansea West Pier

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Associated British Ports (ABP), the leading and best-connected port operator in the UK, and owners and operators of five ports in South Wales has announced the commencement of construction work to repair Swansea West Pier, which plays an important part in preventing coastal erosion in the City of Swansea.

View of Swansea West Pier

Located near to the Tawe Barrage in Swansea Bay and owned by ABP, the pier suffered structural damage by adverse weather and storms in recent years. The inner section of the pier provides wave protection to the navigation channel and the Tawe Barrage. It also holds the beach area to the west of the pier in its current position.

Robert Gray, ABP Port Manager for Swansea and Port Talbot, said: “One of our core values at ABP is to be good neighbours in the communities where we operate. By making this significant investment in the repair of Swansea West Pier, we are not only preventing coastal erosion but also hope that we will create an opportunity for Swansea Council and others to develop public access on top of the rebuilt structure to benefit the local community in future.”

“We will work to minimise noise and traffic disruption as much as possible and appreciate residents’ and stakeholders’ understanding and patience during the construction phase.”

Construction work on Swansea West Pier will include the building of a new retaining wall to support the existing pier structure and was preceded by a range of engineering and environmental surveys to ensure that disturbance to the marine and operational environment will be minimised. As part of this, an important goal was to also make sure that work is organised in a way that will help protect the safe navigation of vessels.

Leo Martin, Managing Director of GRAHAM’s Civil Engineering division, said: “We’re delighted to have commenced works on site at Swansea West Pier. The project will build on our strong existing partnership with ABP, who have been a key client for us over many years of working on complex maritime projects. The new retaining wall we are constructing is the result of our solution led approach to engineering challenges and has been specially developed to accommodate working within a tidal environment.

“This is a vital project for the City of Swansea and its historic port and we’re proud to have been chosen to deliver it on behalf of ABP.”

The work will allow ABP personnel continued operational access. Even though walkways will not be suitable for public access, when the reconstruction is completed, there will be an opportunity to potentially for others to undertake some enhancements in terms of public access and amenity should this be desirable.

Andrew Harston, ABP Wales and Short Sea Ports Director, said: “Our team in Swansea, working with GRAHAM, are doing an excellent job managing this project, minimising disruption to the marine and operational environment, and delivering these reconstruction works which benefit the City of Swansea and local residents as well as ensuring security of marine access to the marina and protecting navigation.”