Thames Freeport marks investment milestone

The freeport is an economic zone connecting vehicle manufacturer, Ford’s Dagenham engine plant and the global ports at DP World’s London Gateway and Forth Ports’ Tilbury.

The £600m of investment represents the funds committed by partners and tenants over the last 24 months. One thousand jobs are being created as a direct result, the first of an anticipated 21,000 who will be employed at the freeport.

“Thames Freeport is a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to stimulate trade, drive innovation, support energy transition, and transform the lives of people in London and the boroughs to its east,” said Martin Whiteley, chief executive at Thames Freeport.

“With 18 million people on its doorstep, Thames Freeport is closer than any other enterprise zone to Europe’s largest and most economically important consumer market, with unrivalled global connectivity to 130 ports in over 65 countries,” he added.

Thames Freeport and telecoms firm, Verizon, have announced their intention to launch a 5G ‘Innovation Network’ at the site, helping bolster logistics and manufacturing operations at the ports.

Freeports offer a number of tax breaks. These include no stamp duty on land purchases, savings on employer national insurance contributions, a five-year business rates holiday and generous capital allowances on investment.