Peel Ports Group signed a £100M ($168.5M) deal with China-based Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co (ZPMC) at a formal ceremony in Shanghai.

ZPMC will supply eight ship-to-shore (STS) mega quay cranes and 22 cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes (CRMGs) to Liverpool2 at the port of Liverpool.

"The deal will create 500 direct jobs and for every one of them, up to an additional five indirect jobs could also be created," Peel Ports CEO Mark Whitworth noted. "Further, ZPMC has chosen to site its UK service centre in Liverpool, to coincide with the arrival of the cranes in 2015".