U.K. grants DP World approval to proceed with major port gateway

Remember DP World? The Dubai-based company’s late-2005 deal to assume ownership of operations in major U.S. sea ports, and the Bush administration’s approval of the deal, caused such a firestorm that Congress moved to tighten regulations governing the acquisition of U.S. critical infrastrcuture assets by non-U.S. companies (and also led DPW a few months later to sell its port holdings to AIG for a handsome profit). DPW is the world’s third-biggest container port operator, and it is again ithe news, this time for having received the approval of the U.K. government for the company’s London Gateway development on the River Thames at Essex. This project will see the company invest approximately $3 billion over ten to fifteen years to develop the 1,500 acre former oil refinery site at Shell Haven.

London Gateway will be a major deep-water port capable of handling the biggest container ships. The company said the facility will help to meet the country’s need for increased deep-sea port capacity. DPW’s proposals include a 2,300 meter long container quay with a fully developed capacity of 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) a year. The adjacent logistics/business park, one of Europe’s largest, will offer integrated road, rail, and sea connections with close proximity to major U.K. markets.

Mohammed Sharaf, CEO of DP World, said that “London Gateway is one of the most significant infrastructure development programmes in the U.K. It will play a major role in supporting international trade and deliver a substantial contribution to the U.K. economy.”

Construction is planned to begin later this year, with DP World aiming to have first occupiers on the park within 12-18 months. The goal is for the port being operational from 2010.