Dubai’s DP World to invest £300m in London Gateway logistics hub

Dubai’s logistics company DP World has announced that it will begin work on a new fourth berth at its London Gateway logistics hub next month.

DP World aims to increase supply chain resilience and create more capacity for the world’s largest vessels, Dubai Media Office reported.

The £300m figure builds on the £2bn investment DP World has made in Britain over the last decade.

.@DP_World is set to invest £300m in a fourth berth at its London Gateway logistics hub to increase supply chain resilience and create more capacity for the world’s largest vessels.https://t.co/tJ0BEZEEOj pic.twitter.com/gOiWbovp2Y

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) September 15, 2021

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “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. 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.”

Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, added: “Our new freeports will create national hubs of trade, innovation and commerce, and attract more investment to regenerate communities and level up the UK.”

“Bringing ports and business together to invest in their regions is crucial to the Freeports success story – that’s why I’m thrilled that DP World is investing £300m to support Thames Freeport – creating new opportunities, boosting growth and supporting local jobs.”

In the first six months of 2021 London Gateway saw a throughput of 888,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units), a more than 23 per cent increase on the previous performance for the first half of a year. The new fourth berth will raise capacity by a third and the completion will coincide with the delivery of 24,000 TEU vessels in 2023/2024, which will all be operated between Asia and Europe.

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. DP World Southampton has also been awarded freeport status as part of Solent Freeport.

DP World Limited handled 19.7 million TEU across its global portfolio of container terminals in the Q2 2021, with gross container volumes increasing by 17.6 per cent year-on-year on a reported basis and 17.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

Read: Dubai’s DP World reports 17.1% volume growth in Q2 2021