The London Gateway project might be one of the most prestigious projects DP World has embarked on in recent years, and with the global economic downturn behind us – that has forced the project being shelved back in 2009, the company was determined to make something of the announcement that the terminal would officially open in the fourth quarter of 2013. Earlier this month, DP World showed how financially important this project is for the company by organising a special event attended by more than 500 stakeholders. The event was hosted by DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Vice Chairman Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, DP World CEO Mohammed Sharaf and London Gateway CEO Simon Moore and attendees included Business Secretary Dr Vince Cable and Shipping Minister Mike Penning.
Local importance
So, how important is the new terminal not only for London but for the whole of the country? London Gateway is the UK’s single largest job creation project, and experts predict 36,000 new jobs will be created from the completed development, providing an extra £3.2 billion into the country’s economy annually. Around 1,000 jobs will be created in the coming months, with 700 construction roles and 300 new port jobs. An estimated 65 million road freight miles will be saved every year as many goods will no longer need to be transported from deep sea ports to inland distribution centres. Instead, goods will be sent straight into the new logistics park and then directly to shops and homes – substantially cutting CO2 emissions.
This might have sparked some interest from the Royal family as well, as His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, also made a visit to the DP World London Gateway during a momentous week for the new terminal. The Duke was welcomed by Sir John Parker Joint Vice Chairman of DP World and the London Gateway team, who gave him a tour of the construction site and hosted a reception which included, amongst others, customers, local MPs and local councillors. Sir John said of the visit: “We were delighted to welcome His Royal Highness Prince Philip to London Gateway. It was a great occasion for all of the DP World team. His Royal Highness was very interested in all aspects of the engineering project taking place at the new London Gateway container port and logistics park. He met with our young British engineers of the future who are working on the site and viewed the construction work taking place at the new port. The foundations of the new quay wall are some ten-storeys deep. It’s a very challenging and exciting project for all involved.” Commenting on the Royal visit, London Gateway Commercial Director Charles Meaby said:
“Prince Philip was very interested in the engineering aspects of the project and it was a great honour to be able to show him the site. He took a keen interest in the engineering work and took time to meet with contractors employed on the project.”
Project overview
Initially, the first phase of the USD2.3 billion terminal will have a capacity of 1.6 million TEU and will be expanded subject to market demand, although it remains unclear when the final phase will be completed offering an annual container capacity of 3.5 million TEU. During the ceremony DP World also announced it awarded four major port equipment contracts. Shanghai-based ZPMC was awarded the contract for eight container cranes, which will be the largest in the world, able to handle the next generation container vessels of 18,000 TEU capacity. The company will also provide the rail mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) for the terminal’s rail terminal. Automated stacking cranes in the container yard and shuttle carriers will be provided by Cargotec, Finland. The contract awarded to Cargotec might have come as a surprise to many insiders and to those who attended a presentation of Simon Moore, CEO of DP World London Gateway, a couple of years ago, indicating that the terminal will be equipped with automated guided vehicles (AGVs) from Gottwald Port Technology rather then shuttle carriers. We also understand that Gottwald was initially mentioned as the favourite to provide the Automatic Stacking Cranes (ASCs) – just like they did with the DP World Antwerp Gateway in Antwerp, Belgium. Representatives from Gottwald were not available for any comments, neither was Xavier Woodward, Communications Manager at London Gateway when asked why DP World finally opted for Cargotec. The London Gateway announcement comes just days after the UK’s largest box port, Hutchison-owned Port of Felixstowe with 3.3 million TEU handled in 2010, held the official opening ceremony for its deep-water berths eight and nine. Both berths can handle Maersk’s Triple E 18,000 TEU vessels when they come into service in two years. A number of major UK container terminal expansion projects are also in the pipeline at Southampton, Liverpool, Teesport and Bristol.