On October 14, global logistics giant DP World officially announced that it would invest 1 billion pounds to expand London Gateway, making it the largest container port in the UK within five years.

DP World said it would build two new berths, bringing the total number of berths capable of accommodating the world’s largest container ships to six by the end of 2030. At the same time, a second railway would be added to cope with the expected growth in container trade.

Comments by British government officials over the weekend sparked a major political debate and raised concerns that DP World Group could delay investments.

Specifically, on October 9, British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Transport Secretary Louise Hague announced that tougher laws would be introduced to prevent the P&O Ferries layoffs scandal from happening again, saying that this would greatly improve the protection of seafarers.

Angela Rayner said the government's mission was "to make sure no employer can abuse redundancies", while Louise Haigh said the mass redundancies were a "national scandal".

In an interview, British Transport Secretary Louise Hague called P&O Ferries a "profiteer" and said she was "shocked and angry" when news of mass job cuts broke two years ago.

“This government will not let this happen again. This problem has been ignored for more than two years,” she said, adding: “We are closing the legal loophole exploited by P&O Ferries when they laid off nearly 800 dedicated seafarers and replaced them with low-paid agency workers, and we are requiring operators who regularly call at UK ports to pay their seafarers a wage at least equivalent to the UK minimum wage.”

However, DP World said the expansion would create a further 400 permanent new jobs, in addition to the 1,200 jobs currently employed.

The expansion will bring DP World’s total investment in London Gateway to more than £3 billion, transforming the site of a former refinery into one of the UK’s largest and most important logistics centres. London Gateway’s fourth berth, which was recently expanded at a cost of £350 million, will soon be operational.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive of DP World, said: “London Gateway will help the UK’s trade flows into the future by connecting UK exporters to global markets, providing vital supply chain resilience across the economy. I am proud of this major investment, which underlines DP World’s long-term commitment to the UK.”
Ernst Schulze, CEO of DP World UK Ports and Terminals, said: “As this commitment demonstrates, London Gateway’s location and transport infrastructure are ideally suited for expansion. As capacity is added, reliability and supply chain resilience are important for our customers and consumers, especially in uncertain times such as disruptions caused by the pandemic and geopolitical events.”

Subject to planning approvals and regulatory requirements, the expansion is expected to significantly increase London Gateway's throughput from 2.4 million TEU to 3.2 million TEU. In 2023, the throughput of London Gateway will be just over 2 million TEU.

DP World plays an increasingly important role in the UK economy, employing 5,500 people and providing a wide range of logistics services. In addition to owning London Gateway and operating the container terminal in Southampton, it is also a major logistics provider, providing customized warehousing, transportation and port-centric logistics services to customers in a variety of industries such as automotive and perishables.

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