Dover ferry port up for sale

One story that's been bubbling away in the background since the start of the year is of the potential privatisation of the Port of Dover which could raise £300m or more if it goes ahead.

The Port of Dover made £15m profit in 2008 and as a trust port this means that all profits are ploughed back into the business. One of the reasons for the privatisation is to help fund a major £400m expansion of the port with planned construction of a second 4-berth RORO (roll on/roll off) Western ferry dock to support a doubling in freight traffic by 2040.

There is of course claim and counter claim to any kind of major event like this with news being initially greeted positively when it was announced in January that Dover port could be privatised, with the treasury being no doubt especially keen on the deal as any proceeds would go straight to HM Government. By early February the Daily Mail was in uproar at suggestion that Dover could be sold off to the French with a patriotic story including photos of a Spitfire flying over the cliffs, references to Dame Vera Lynn and of course commentary on previous 'scraps' over the centuries between England and France.
In March the ferry companies reported their anger at what would happen to Dover's financial reserves which were earmarked for the new ferry docks, but could be used instead to close the port authority's pension funding gap.

I suspect this story will continue to run for some time.