Thames Freeport - Britain's Trading Future

[ 18 ] D P WO R L D DP World and its partners promised that we could open a freeport before the end of 2021, which is why I’m delighted to be launching Thames Freeport now. My message is simple: DP World is open for business today and I would urge anyone looking to grow their business to get in touch to find out more about the benefits of locating at Thames Freeport. Let me start by explaining a little more about who we are. DP World believes in the UK and is committed to its future. We have invested more than £2 billion in the last decade at our terminals at London Gateway and Southampton and also at P&O Ferries. We employ more than 5,000 people in the UK, and we have continued to invest even during difficult times, bringing growth, supporting businesses, creating jobs and improving living standards. We have great plans for the UK; it is a market in which we have made the most significant investments outside the UAE. Our London Gateway and Southampton terminals handle 3.6 million containers, with an estimated value of £43 billion to the UK economy. London Gateway is already the most technologically advanced and fastest growing container port in the UK. It uses some of the largest quayside cranes in the world, each as large as the London Eye. We are enhancing the facility still further with a £300 million new phase of investment in an additional berth — a very exciting development. We have opened a rapidly expanding port-centric logistics park at London Gateway providing supply chain solutions and high-quality warehousing. At the size of 400 football pitches, it’s the biggest of its kind in Europe and we expect it to become home to a workforce of around 10,000. The Logistics Park’s proximity to both a deep-water port and the UK’s largest consumer markets cuts transport costs between port and depots and depots and markets. It also has outstanding road links and access to an adjacent rail terminal. It is an outstanding example of port-centric logistics in action. Our investment in Southampton — the second largest container terminal in the country, which has also been awarded freeport status — has helped make it the most productive port in the UK. We have invested a further £40 million this year alone to take it up to the next level as a smart logistics hub. We are unique in offering a choice of deep-water entry and exit points to and from this country. That means greater flexibility and choice for shipping lines and cargo owners. We’re also thinking about ways to help the environment. Southampton has the highest proportion of Thames Freeport offers world class port and logistics facilities, unrivalled global connectivity, investment in skills and green technology, and attractive financial incentives — all on the doorstep of Europe’s biggest consumer market. Rendered aerial image of the entire London Gateway port, park and yard Ernst Schulze, UK CEO, DP World