Private sector could finance crossing - chancellor

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said the government is exploring the option of privately financing the Lower Thames Crossing project.

In her keynote speech on growing the economy, she said the tunnel would be part of the "infrastructure our country desperately needs".

The crossing would become the largest road tunnel in the UK and would be built underneath the Thames linking Tilbury in Essex and Gravesend in Kent.

Costed at about £8.3bn, it will be one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in British history.

"We will work with the private sector to deliver the infrastructure that our country desperately needs," said Reeves.

"This includes the Lower Thames Crossing, which will improve connectivity at Dover, Felixstowe and Harwich – alleviating severe congestion as goods destined to export come from the north and the Midlands and across the country to markets overseas.

"To drive growth and deliver value for money for taxpayers we are exploring options to privately finance this important project."

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, also told MPs his team was "committed" to bringing the project forward.

The 14-mile road (22.5km) would link the A2 and M2 in Kent with the A13 and the M25 in Thurrock, and 2.6 miles of it (4.2km) would go under ground.

National Highways says the road will reduce traffic at the Dartford Crossing by 20%.

Work on the project has been ongoing since 2009 and more than £800m in taxpayers' money has been spent on planning.

National Highways wants to put spades in the ground in 2026, and to open it by 2032.

Richard Smith from the Road Haulage Association said in a statement: "The project will provide much-needed reliability for businesses.

"The delays at Dartford decrease productivity and increase costs for businesses, particularly those reliant on freight".

Ann Scott, from the Federation of Small Businesses in Essex, said 57% of its members thought their companies would grow if the new crossing was constructed.

Some councils, campaigners and politicians have opposed the project.

Jen Craft, the Labour MP for Thurrock, said she remained opposed to the current crossing proposals: "I have concerns around the disruption this would cause to local residents and the impact on air quality in the area."

A spokesperson from campaign group Transport Action Network said the crossing was the "worst possible solution to solving congestion at Dartford" or "meeting net zero commitments".

"Exploring options for privately financing [the crossing] does nothing to address its fundamental flaws; generating ever more traffic and harmful emissions, devastating the market for international rail freight and damaging the competitiveness of our seaports north of the Thames," they said.

Thurrock Council has also opposed the project, and its Labour group, which leads the authority, said: "It would cause huge damage to our environment and ecology as well as doing little to add to the resilience of our local road network."

The government is expected to make a final decision in May, on whether the scheme can go ahead.

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