PORT OF LONDON. CONSIDERATION FOR NEW ZEALAND. IMPROVED DOCKING. FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 63, 12 September 1911, Page 3

PORT OF LONDON. CONSIDERATION FOR NEW ZEALAND. IMPROVED DOCKING. FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.

LONDON, 4th August. v The Port of London Authority ha.s now published the detailed scheme of poll ; mptovnment which it intend? to j commence upon at the beginning of next year, a-s nart of $, cwiipvohemive scheme. The in«in feature is the construotion of a, rew dock, to br called tf<e Sotilh Albert Dock, which U io he almost as sar»<3 as the Albert, but much deeper, is to take five ycare to construct, and is to cost £2,105,"0OO. Lord LVvotipoil, the cha-irftwn of tho authority, describes the locality of tlm Vlctom and Albpft Dock" a-, the hpa-i Centre tf the port. The dppth of yaW in the Victoria aiul Albert Docks now is less than 30ft,, but. it is hoped to increase this by 2t't 6ih by uieftn* of improved putmnng plant, but the new South Albert Dock will !me a dftpth of 38ft, and- the entrance itVk will be 800 ft as against only 550 ft for thp existing dock. This will enable it- to achieve its main object of accommodating much larger steamers than 'at present. The depth" on' the sill, too. will be 45ft, as against 36it. The new dock will have 0 length of 4600 ft. a width of 700 ft at one end a.nd 500 ft at the other. The cargo-handling equipment will be of the most up-to-date description. The entrances of the -East and West 'India Docks will also be improved. FOR NEW ZEALAND. The proposed improvements of the West India Docks are of special interest to New Zealand. What is known a« the South-West India Dock offers the deepest wa,ter, and it <?a.u bs made the best of what are called the "tip-town" docks. Th* need having lately presented itself, nays the report, of providing accommodation here for the New Zealand meat trade, in which ships of increasing siße are likely to enter, it is proposed to adapt the South- West India Dock for vessels up to 650 ft in length between perpend kula-tts— a, decision which should give this important water area of thirty-five acres, not only r. renewed lease of life, but enable it to earn a satisfactory revenue in the near future, after an estimated a segregate outlay 01 £894,000.

It will be necessary to construct at a cost of £200.000 a new entrance lock 200 ft long. 100 ft wide, and 40ft depp to give fleeces to a basin upwa-rde 'of fire flcr^p in aroa nnd estimated to cost £•135,000. vhii-h will provide berths for tvf> vetrels and a^t fl? a Jock for large \ppsel,°. Thr dock itself lisr already ft dfptli o{ 20ft, but by pumping this will tip increased to 31ft., A tfivge proportion of the total outlay wilt be expended on the building of, a wnsje of modern phede, h'x in number, nnd varying tin length from 710 ft to TSMtjtlie widening of quays; and t»« pro<-isi"n of other of the intpst tt t \pe. Another impoitant feature ib tlw riitifdiurl.ion t>f ft dry dock At n ro*t of £220,000.