Government puts Thurrock port in the fast lane

Thousands of construction jobs are set to be created by the building of a £1.5bn port at Thurrock, Essex.

The government has written to marine terminaltermial operator Dubai Port World, which owns the 600 ha site known as London Gateway, saying it intends to give the green light to the massive scheme "as swiftly as possible".

The project, to be developed at Shell Haven, will be completed in phases overand take between 10 to 15 years to complete.

The undertaking will include a 2,300m container quay, plus distribution warehouses and a business park on a separate part of the site.

Proposals indicate that the first container berths will come on stream by 2010, with the first business units occupied by the end of 2007.

The overall waterfront spans around 3,000m, of which 2,300m will be taken up by container berths.

Roll-on roll-off berths are also planned for eastern end of the port site, comprising a floating pontoon connected to the yard by a bridge and capable of berthing two ro-ro ships.

The project also entails relocating an oil jetty for Shell traffic.

Shallow areas of the approach channel to the site will be dredged to allow massive container ships to pass through and container berths will also be dredged to accommodate the largest vessels. Quayside gantry-type cranes will be mounted on rails for loading and unloading.

Rail facilities at London Gateway Port will be connected to the existing Thames Haven branch line, which will be upgraded to twin track.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Dubai Port World's chairman, said that the government's favourable attitude to the development is "important news and we are delighted with the UK government's continued support"

Insiders also believe that the government's positive stance could give impetus to plans for a £13bn Crossrail train project linking Heathrow, the City and Canary Wharf with Essex and Kent.

[Contract Journal, 16 August 2006, p 2]