LAST week Tees Valley businesses welcomed the announcement of a £29m investment programme into PD Ports. Part of this investment involves the expansion of the container terminal which will improve and increase capacity at the Teesport site.

The first phase will see an injection of £15m to improve the container handling facilities and directly increase the amount of tonnage capacity that the port can handle with the new layout and planned development.

The physical improvements to the facilities are due to start in November 2010. The investment will create up to 250 jobs – 50 of which will be directly employed by PD Teesport, with an additional 200 within the supply chain.

Development of the facilities at Teesport will not just be physical improvements, but investment into innovation and IT to help support handling efficiencies at the site. The port has already been awarded “best in class for innovation in the supply chain”, and the investment aims to build on this reputation.

The accolade supports the growing digital name that the Tees Valley has created with its investment in digital innovation.

The Tees Valley has invested heavily over the past five years in the creation of a digital innovation programme, called Digital City.

Digital City has been a driver for the creation of the now established digital technology sector, which has stimulated the creation of startup business and the development of the flagship BOHO Zone.

The BOHO Zone, which lies in the heart of the historical quarter of Middlesbrough town centre, links directly with the Middlehaven development site.

The first phase of BOHO saw investment of more than £10m towards the creation of the BOHO ONE building. Its facilities have attracted businesses from all over the UK, and ensured that we have developed and grown our own talents within the Tees Valley.

One of the earliest success stories is a 3D digital visualisation business which has directly spun out of Teesside University’s Digital Media programme. Annimersion were awarded the contract to develop a 3D platform of the Tall Ships Villages, which will support the final leg of the Tall Ships race in August. The site is now live and allows you to take a virtual tour of the Village, so that you can get a sense of the size and layout of the village before the estimated 1.5m visitors arrive in Hartlepool in a month’s time.

The work of Annimersion is a great example of how a combination of the heritage of the Tees Valley can be combined with the cutting edge to make a positive impact on the business community.

■ Joanne Fryett is head of member relations with the North-East Chamber of Commerce