Dubai-based DP World has in just over a decade transformed the site of a former oil refinery into the UK’s fastest-growing deep-sea container terminal, located on the River Thames less than 30 miles from central London.
The London Gateway is a prime example of DP World’s strategy to expand beyond its core port terminal mold and offer integrated logistics solutions which enhance connectivity and streamline supply chains.
Investment Drive
Just over a year ago, DP World announced a £1 billion ($1.30 billion) expansion of London Gateway, aimed at making it the UK’s largest container port within five years and taking the group’s total investment at the Thames Estuary location to more than £3 billion.
A port of call on some of the main deep-sea ocean trades, London Gateway currently handles approximately nearly 2 million TEU of traffic annually, which includes a substantial chunk of the UK’s containerized reefer cargo.
The port’s connectivity was significantly enhanced earlier this year when it was added to the routing of the Gemini Cooperation’s (a strategic alliance between ocean shipping lines Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd) Asia-Europe service.
Capacity Expansion
London Gateway’s expansion centers on the construction of two new shipping berths – taking the total to six – while a second rail terminal recently entered service to accommodate more ship-to train box transfers, highlighting its multi-modal freight focus.
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 metres long, and boast Europe’s tallest ship-to-shore cranes, taller than the Big Ben clock tower.
Last year, London Gateway brought a fourth berth into service, the first to be powered entirely by electricity – demonstrating DP World’s net zero objectives.
“Thanks to the opening of the all-electric fourth berth last year and the new Gemini Cooperation callings at London Gateway earlier in 2025, throughput at the port has risen substantially,” a spokesperson for DP World told AJOT.
Berths 5 and 6 are expected to be completed in 2027 and 2029 respectively, giving London Gateway the capacity to continue on its box traffic growth curve.
Handling Innovation
Meanwhile, innovation is playing a key part in London Gateway’s development, DP World announcing last month that it was investing £170 million in “cutting-edge container handling technology”, marking a major step forward in the digitalization and automation of port operations.
The new ‘Boxbay Empty Superstack’ system represents a “revolutionary” approach to handling empty containers, and which has already been successfully trialed at DP World’s Jebel Ali Port in Dubai.
Using High Bay Storage (HBS) technology, it will store 20- and 40-foot empty containers up to 16 tiers high inside a fully enclosed, automated facility. The result is a dramatic improvement in yard capacity, safety and efficiency – operating like a giant vending machine for containers, the group noted.
“By bringing this ingenious design to London Gateway, we are introducing advanced technology that will unlock faster throughput and contribute to higher safety standards,” enthused Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
Installed at Berth 4, the fully-electric stacker cranes can handle containers with precision, retrieving and delivering them automatically for onward transport.
Thriving Logistics Park
That DP World has evolved into an end-to-end logistics solutions provider means London Gateway is much more than a state-of-the-art port terminal.
Its fast-growing logistics park is the largest facility of its type in the UK. Around half of the more than nine million sq. ft site has already been developed. At the beginning of the year, it welcomed its first two manufacturing firms as tenants.
Its proximity to major road and rail motorway networks ensures quick access to the massive consumer markets of London and the southeast of the UK.
Logistics industry leaders such as DHL, CEVA Logistics and COSCO are located at the park and also UPS whose London parcel hub uses high levels of automation to distribute packages inbound from Europe.
More than 500 people operate out of the UPS facility which has the capacity to process 28,000 packages an hour.
This summer, DP World announced a “landmark” collaboration with Tesco, a leading UK-based retailer, to build a high-tech, low-carbon distribution center at London Gateway by 2029.
Tesco has teamed up with retail-centric supply chain systems specialist Witron, and provision is made for the center to process dry grocery commodities, allowing Tesco to meet enhanced green targets.
Another grocery retailer, Lidl, already has a warehouse at London Gateway serving its stores in the southeast of the UK.
A 10-year Local Development Order (LDO), approved earlier this year by the local council, facilitates further expansion and job creation at the park in the long-term. Fast-track planning permissions also allow businesses to swiftly build new facilities in response to demand.
Sustainable Freight Mode
25% of London Gateway’s traffic throughput is moved by rail, underlining DP World’s commitment to sustainable freight transport.
The hub’s second rail terminal provides scope for more frequent services and longer trains and additional routing options to inland terminals and logistics hubs across the UK.
Earlier this autumn, a fifth weekly frequency was added to a rail service for containerized cargo between the DP World-run Port of Southampton, on the UK’s south coast and London Gateway, a distance of 120 miles.
The inter-port rail corridor allows DP World’s two UK deep-water ports to work in tandem and provide a value-added transit solution to shipping agents and forwarders with containers landed at Southampton loaded on to trains bound for London Gateway’s logistics park which serves as a distribution hub. The rail freight mode also means fewer trucks on congested roads and a reduction in CO2 emissions.
Breakbulk Capabilities
Besides its core container activity, DP World also offers an “industry-leading” breakbulk service for customers at London Gateway, enabling the efficient transport of cargo of all shapes, sizes, and weights without the need for disassembly, a group spokesperson explained.
“At London Gateway, our highly trained ‘load and lash’ and ‘discharge’ teams tailor this unique service to each individual customer, with max lifting capacities of 95 tons at the port. This capability is particularly beneficial for industries handling oversized cargo, especially the motorsport and natural resource sectors.”
The spokesperson added: “The £1 billion expansion of London Gateway is expected to increase our capacity to handle, load, and transport breakbulk cargo. Future investment in new terminal equipment, such as Mafi (roll) trailers, will also ensure that larger cargo can be stored more safely and efficiently.”
