Cement imports in Ipswich passed a new milestone as a 4,600 tonne load arrived from Bilbao, in northern Spain.

It took the new total for Southern Cement shipments through Port of Ipswich customer to 3m tonnes.

The company has used the port, which is owned by Associated British Ports (ABP), since 2002.

Southern Cement operations boss Dean Wessels said: “We are delighted to reach the milestone of 3m tonnes of cement through our operation at Ipswich.

"We could not have achieved this without the commitment of our employees and business partners.

“Our relationship with ABP has allowed us to grow our business to become the supplier of choice when it comes to cementitious products.”

As well as being the UK’s leading grain export port, Ipswich specialises in a range of other products such as fertiliser, cement and aggregates.

ABP divisional port manager for East Anglia Paul Ager said: “This fantastic achievement is testament to our long-standing partnership with Southern Cement, as a valued customer in Ipswich.

“We look forward to continuing to play an important role in supporting the UK construction industry, so that we can contribute to the growth of the region’s economy in future.”