£1.5bn London Gateway port announced

DP World has unveiled a £1.5bn development of the 750 ha London Gateway site on the north bank of the river Thames near Thurrock in Essex.

The site will be transformed into a vast container port and Europe's largest logistics site to help reduce the distances goods must travel to and from markets in the UK.

Client DP World has contracted Laing O'Rourke and Dredging International for the first phase of the project, the construction of the first three berths, in a joint venture worth £400M.  

Expected to be in operation from 2010, the port, which is based on a former oil refinery site 25 miles from central London.

The 2.3km-long container quay will have a capacity of 3.5M TEU (standard container units) a year, which is the existing capacity of Felixtowe port.

It will be responsible for creating 14,000 new jobs, making it the largest employement creation project in the country.