The contract is over five years, and will see the construction of the first phase of the port’s quay providing three berths and over 1.2 kilometres of quay in a joint venture between Laing O’Rourke and Dredging International. The new port will eventually handle 3.5milion TEU. Chief Executive of London Gateway, Simon Moore, said: “This contract is a major milestone in constructing the port. London Gateway is the UK’s first deep sea container port for over 25 years and will change the way millions of consumer goods are transported around the country. By integrating the new container port with a logistics park, many everyday goods will be sent to the nation’s shops without having to be hauled on a truck to a distribution centre often situated inland hundreds of miles away from a container port. Instead, goods will go straight into London Gateway’s own logistics park to be sorted and then sent direct to shops.” DP World estimates that the project will save 2,000 trucks from the UK’s roads every day, trucks which normally travel from a port and then return with an empty container to be put back onto a ship. DP World estimates that by cutting out this inefficient part of the logistics process, London Gateway will take 52 million truck miles off the UK’s highways every year, reducing congestion, saving time, fuel and curbing carbon emissions.
‘The project will save 2000 trucks from the UK’s roads every
day’
London Gateway will aim to move fifty percent more containers per hour on and off ships than is currently being achieved in the UK. Containers will be transferred automatically from the quay into a fully automated storage area. The new port will also offer other benefits such as being more sustainable, creating less light pollution and less noise for the surrounding areas. Construction work will begin later this year at the 1,500 acre site, just 25 miles from central London on the former Shell Haven oil refinery at Stanfordle- Hope near Thurrock, South Essex. The logistics park, which will offer 9.5million square feet, is due to open in the latter half of 2010, with the first ships arriving in early 2011.
www.dpworld.com