The project will expand the footprint of the site and see an extra 10 cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes and three ship-to-shore cranes.

The first cranes are scheduled to arrive in November with the overall project expected to be completed during 2021.

Detailed design and preparatory civil works have started.

There will also be additional reefer points installed to allow the terminal to handle even greater quantities of refrigerated containers at the Port of Liverpool.

BAM Nuttall built the £400m first phase of Liverpool 2 which opened in November 2016.

The deep-water facility can handle the world’s largest container ships and connects road, rail and canal networks linking directly to the heart of the UK mainland.

Mark Whitworth, CEO of Peel Ports said: “Since originally announcing our expansion plans we have gone on to secure some of the world’s major shipping lines as customers at the Port of Liverpool.

“That, and our growing customer base, is a vote of confidence in the North of England as a competitive route to international markets and a major port for global trade.

“We look forward to working with the team at McLaughlin & Harvey to deliver the next phase that will provide even more capacity to help meet growing demand.”