P&O, SHELL SUBMIT APPLICATION FOR LONDON GATEWAY PROJECT

P&O, SHELL SUBMIT APPLICATION FOR LONDON GATEWAY PROJECT    The U.K.-based P&O group and the oil major Shell have submitted applications to develop London Gateway, a port and business center project on the site of a former oil refinery at Shell Haven on the river Thames near the port of Tilbury.
   The facility’s frontage of approximately two miles will accommodate a port with roll-on/roll-off ferry operations and berths capable of handling 3.5 million TEUs a year when fully developed.
   The development also includes up to 10 million square feet of commercial space designed for manufacturing, industrial, and distribution activities.
      London Gateway, a venture between P&O and Shell, plans to upgrade an existing rail link into the site to move 30 percent of port traffic by rail.
   A spokesman for P&O said that existing container terminals in the U.K. will reach capacity in the next five years or so.
   Following consultation and reviews by the relevant statutory bodies, P&O hopes to be able to commence development in 2003.