Work has begun to build a fourth berth at DP World’s London Gateway hub which will increase cargo capacity by a third.
It’s hoped that the resilience of the UK supply chain will be strengthened by the £350 million (€398 million) project, which builds on DP World’s £2 billion (€2.3 billion) investment in Britain over the last decade.
“I am delighted that we have taken the next step in delivery of the new fourth berth and made clear our commitment to investing in and regenerating the areas where we operate,” said Ernst Schulze, UK chief executive of DP World.
“Over the next 10 years we have earmarked a further £1 billion of investment in this country.”
Big ambitions
The construction work will create 1,000 new jobs with the growing logistics park eventually home to 12,000 employees once it completes in five years’ time.
Civil engineering company McLaughlin & Harvey, is working with the port operator to build the new terminal.
“We are delighted to have been awarded the contract with DP World and to begin delivering this vital piece of national infrastructure. We bring with us extensive experience in the marine sector and look forward to engaging with our local supply chain and creating jobs locally,” said Seamus Devlin, covil engineering director, McLaughlin & Harvey Civil.
DP World operates two deep water ports at London Gateway and Southampton in the UK with access to freight rail terminals and a rapidly expanding logistics park on the doorstep of the capital.
By offering a choice of deep-water entry and exit points to and from the country, the port operator said it is giving greater flexibility to shipping lines, cargo owners and exporters.
Back in July, DP World announced that London Gateway handled more than one million TEU in six months between January and June - a record for the port.
Together with throughput at the Port of Southampton, the performance contributed to a record volume of cargo in the first half of the year for DP World’s UK port operation of 1,937,000 TEU.
