The MoD have awarded a £30m contract to Westminster Boskalis for dredging the 4-5 mile approach channel of Portsmouth in order to accommodate the larger QE carriers. They will use a combination of trailing suction hopper dredgers and backhoe dredgers to remove in excess of 3 million cubic metres of sand, gravel and hard clay.

Work commences in the second half of 2015 for 8 months.

A similar project in Southampton for Associated British Ports removed 5 million cubic metres for £40m, about 20% cheaper per cubic metre, just for comparison, although of course, a direct comparison cannot be made for any number of reasons.