DP World to invest another $1bn in London Gateway
Ports operator DP World will invest another $1bn (£647m) in the London Gateway project over the next three years, it said on Tuesday, adding the new port centre will be operational by the fourth quarter of 2013.
The world’s largest port operator said the under-construction port will have an initial capacity of 1.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units.
The London Gateway, located about 25 miles from central London, is funded by the Dubai-based operator and is planned to be a £1.5bn deep-sea container port incorporating Europe’s largest logistics park.
The port operator also awarded four port equipment contracts, which includes a partnership with Cargotec for port automation. Cargotec said separately that the project size is around €100-150m
DP World said the London Gateway project will create 1,000 new jobs – 700 in construction jobs and 300 in the facility.
The operator, which completed its secondary limiting on the London Stock Exchange earlier this year, reported a four-fold increase in its first-half profits as it booked gains from the sale of its Australian port operations last year.