IT’S the £70m boost that could bring thousands of jobs and millions of pounds of trade to Southampton.

A loan signed off by the European Investment Bank (EIB) has fired the starting gun on ambitious plans to develop the city’s docks and open it up to trade from around the world.

And port chiefs have also revealed that there are still plans to build the city’s long-awaited fifth cruise terminal, with an announcement expected later this year.

As previously revealed in the Echo, Associated British Ports (ABP) has planned one of the biggest overhauls in the port’s history.

Among the work to be carried out in the £140m project is the widening and deepening of the channel to the port’s container terminal.

That work would open up the port to new, ultra-large container ships from all over the world and especially the Far East.

Following the signing of the £70m loan by the EIB, which is the European Union’s bank, a preferred contractor for the dredge is expected to be announced in August and work could begin in September.

The expansion would also see berths upgraded and enormous new gantry cranes installed, which would be among the world’s biggest.

As part of the project work is already under way to build a new multiplex to contain imported vehicles, which is expected to be completed in October.

Port chiefs are hopeful that the expansion will allow container ships to travel through the Panama Canal from the Far East to Southampton.

Port director Doug Morrison is currently in the Far East talking to potential partners in Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.

He said: “We obviously want to take advantage of the natural location we have to build for the future.

“We’ve got the best-located port in the country.

“This loan just puts all of the finance in place.

“Not only will this expansion protect jobs at the port, but over the long term it will create jobs.”

Mr Morrison also revealed that plans for a fifth cruise terminal in Southampton could be resurrected later this year.

He said: “We’ve been considering a fifth cruise terminal for some time and that is still very much on the cards.

“We are still evaluating whether it is still a sensible thing to do, but there may be an announcement later this year.”

The EIB’s vice-president, Jonathan Taylor, said: “Increased global trade handled by larger ships built for the widened Panama Canal provides significant opportunities for regional economic development in a new era of logistics.

“The EIB is committed to supporting long-term investment in ports around the UK.

“EIB-backed investment by ABP in Southampton will not only improve container handling at the UK’s most efficient container terminal but also sustain thousands of jobs across southern England.”

Last year the EIB was condemned by politicians in the south when it handed an £80m loan to Ford to develop its new Transit plant in Turkey – which spelled the end for the firm’s long-standing Southampton plant.

But this time the EIB’s investment has been universally welcomed by politicians across the region.

Southampton Test MP Alan Whitehead said: “The loan is significant in terms of the port itself, but also what it says about the national and international importance of the port.

“Ports like Southampton have to keep moving forward or they start to go backwards.

“The country is littered with ports that were once quite important but now have one dredger and a couple of fishing boats.”

South East MEP Catherine Bearder is currently negotiating a transatlantic trade agreement between the EU and the USA which she thinks will also benefit the newly-expanded port.

She said: “It’s really great news for Southampton and it’s going to bring a lot of investment and lots of jobs. It’s a win-win situation all-round.”