Dubai-based port operator DP World has revealed that it will begin work next month on a new fourth berth at its London Gateway logistics hub.
The investment of £300 million ($415 million) will be spent to increase supply chain resilience and create more capacity for the world’s largest vessels.
In the first six months of 2021 London Gateway saw a record throughput of 888,000 TEU, more than 23% increase on the previous best performance for the first half of a year. The new fourth berth will raise capacity by a third.
“As a central pillar of Thames Freeport, London Gateway’s new fourth berth will allow even more customers to benefit from world class ports and logistics, with unrivalled global connectivity, on the doorstep of Europe’s largest consumer market,” Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem , Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said.
“DP World plans to be at the heart of Britain’s trading future and this investment shows that we have the ambition and the resources to boost growth, support businesses, create jobs and improve living standards.”
“Our new freeports will create national hubs of trade, innovation and commerce, and attract more investment to regenerate communities and level up the UK,” Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP , Chancellor of the Exchequeur.
Along with the Port of Tilbury and Ford’s Dagenham plant DP World London Gateway will form Thames Freeport after being awarded freeport status by the government earlier this year, with the partners currently progressing the business case with a view to receiving formal accreditation.
Recently, DP World has agreed to jointly study with FESCO, Russia’s largest intermodal transport operator, the technical and economic conditions for developing a new container berth in the far east of Russia.
The new berth will help to expand Vladivostok Commercial Seaport as a major transshipment hub connecting cargo from countries in East Asia to North-West Europe via the Northern Sea Route.