DP World and P&O Estates have got final government approval for the £1.4bn London Gateway container port and business park in Thurrock,
The Department for Transport last night issued a ‘Harbour Empowerment Order’ to London Gateway, which enables official and statutory powers to the new port.
Construction work will begin later this year on the 1,850 acre site, just 25 miles from central
The scheme includes a circa 9.5m sq ft logistics park aimed at the distribution and industrial sector to be built on the former Shell refinery site at Shell Haven in the Thames Estuary.
At the heart of the project is a deep-sea port facility including a container quay with an annual capacity of up to 3.5m container units.
The final all-clear follows a lengthy public inquiry in 2003, which concluded with the inspector recommending approval subject to conditions, including the provision of extra highway capacity in the area.
The government gave conditional approval to the scheme in July of 2005 and full consent in June 2007.
DP World’s £3.3bn takeover of P&O at the beginning of 2006 is thought to have only gone ahead after Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem – chairman of Dubai-based DP World – received assurances that the Shellhaven project would go-head.
More than £1.5bn is being privately invested by DP World.
The project is currently the largest capital investment initiative in the
