DP World awards first big London Gateway contract

DP World awards first big London Gateway contract Dubai Ports World Wednesday awarded the first major contract to build the first phase of its '1.5 billion ($2.79 billion) London Gateway container port and logistics park development, the United Kingdom’s first deep sea container port for more than 25 years.
   A joint venture between Laing O'Rourke and Dredging International has been given a five-year, '400 million ($745.3 million) contract to start construction later this year of the port's quay providing three berths and more than 1.2 kilometers of quay.
   When fully developed, the 1,500-acre facility, located 25 miles from central London on the former Shell Haven oil refinery at Stanford-le-Hope near Thurrock, South Essex, will have an annual handling capacity of 3.5 million TEUs. The logistics park, which will offer 9.5 million square feet, is due to open in the latter half of 2010, with the first ships arriving in early 2011.
   The Dubai-based global terminals operator inherited the London Gateway project, which was first applied for in January 2002, with the purchase of P&O Ports in March 2006.
   London Gateway is expected to create about 12,000 new jobs and take some 52 million truck miles off the U.K.'s highways every year with goods going straight into the logistics park to be sorted and then sent direct to shops rather than being hauled on a truck to a distribution center.
   'This contract is a major milestone in constructing the port. In an economic climate where the building industry is experiencing a sharp slow down, this is great news for Essex and the U.K. in general,” said Simon Moore, London Gateway’s chief executive.
   'London Gateway is vitally important for today's U.K. economy. It will deliver the most efficient and technologically advanced port in the world and much needed deep sea capacity for the U.K.' ' Simon Heaney