£1 billion expansion set to transform DP World London Gateway

DP World has announced a £1 billion expansion of London Gateway to make it Britain’s largest container port within five years.

The company will increase capacity of London Gateway’s port by building two new shipping berths, taking the total to six berths able to receive the world’s largest container ships. The site will also see a second rail terminal added to handle the expected increase in containerized trade.

By the end of the decade, the full quayside stretching more than 2.5km in length will be able to simultaneously receive six vessels, each more than 400 meters long.

The expansion will take the total invested by DP World at London Gateway to more than £3bn, converting the site of a former oil refinery into one of the UK’s largest and most important logistics hubs.

The site has most recently seen the addition of a £350 million fourth berth, the first to be powered entirely by electricity, and which will soon accept its first ship.

Overall, this project included construction of a new 430m tubular piled quay wall – designed to tie into the end of the existing berth 3 and allow the future construction of berth 5 – and dredging the berth 4 to 17m.