London Gateway project gets green light after 5-year wait

London Gateway project gets green light after 5-year wait After more than five years consideration the United Kingdom's Transport Ministry Wednesday said it approved Dubai Ports World’s London Gateway project that the Dubai-based terminals operator inherited with the purchase of P&O Ports in March 2006.
   The '1.5 billion ($2.96 billion) port and business park project, first applied for in January 2002, will be partly built on the site of a former Shell Oil refinery at Shell Haven in Thurrock in the county of Essex.
   When fully developed, the 1,500-acre site will be able to handle the largest deep-sea container ships with a 2,300-meter (7,546-foot) container quay and an annual capacity of 3.5 million TEUs. The planned logistics-business park, to be adjacent to the marine terminal, will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe, DP World said.
   Construction is planned to begin later this year, with DP World aiming to have first occupiers on the park within 12 to 18 months, with the port operational from 2010.
   “This is important news and we are very pleased with the U.K. government’s decision,” said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World’s chairman. “This is the single-biggest investment project for DP World.    It represents our long-term commitment to bringing benefits and value to our customers and to the U.K. economy.”