DP World will begin construction work next month on a fourth berth at its London Gateway logistics hub. The upgrade is being built at an investment of $415m in a bid to increase supply chain resilience and create more capacity for the world’s largest ships.
According to a statement, the investment builds on the $2.76bn investment DP World has already made in Britain over the last decade. It represents the next step in delivering integrated supply chain solutions for customers, the firm said.
In the first six months of 2021, London Gateway saw record throughput of 888,000 TEU, which DP World says is a 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 and completion will coincide with the delivery of a new wave of 24,000 TEU vessels in 2023/2024, which will all be operated between Asia and Europe, it added.
“I am delighted to announce that we will go ahead with our latest major investment in the UK, which will give London Gateway more capacity to handle the world’s largest vessels than any other port in the country. 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,” said group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.
He added, “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.”
The Dubai-based group said 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 partners currently progressing the business case with a view to receiving formal accreditation. DP World Southampton has also been awarded freeport status as part of Solent Freeport, further cementing the critical role of both logistics hubs in the UK’s international trade, the statement concluded.
