DP World has awarded a £400-million (Dh2.73-billion) contract to build the first phase of its new deep-water port on the River Thames in southern England.
The port, due to be built over the next 10 to 15 years, will be the most advanced container port in the world once complete, and integrated with Europe's largest logistics park. The total cost of the project, named London Gateway, is projected at £1.5bn.
The tenure of DP World's contract is five years, which will see the construction of phase one of the port's quay to provide three berths and more than 1.2km of quay, in a joint venture with Laing O'Rourke and Dredging International.
The new port will eventually handle 3.5m TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), providing much-needed increased capacity for the UK's container terminals.
The project, located in the county of Essex, is set to be the largest creator of new jobs in the UK, providing employment to more than 12,000 people in the coming years. It is also the largest investment in Southeast England.
Simon Moore, Chief Executive of London Gateway, said: "This contract is a major milestone in constructing the port. In an economic climate where the building industry is experiencing a sharp slow down, this is great news for Essex and the UK in general.
"London Gateway is vitally important for the UK's economy. It will deliver the most efficient and technologically advanced port in the world and a much-needed deep water capacity for the UK."
London Gateway is the UK's first new deep-water container port for more than 25 years and is expected to change the way millions of consumer goods are transported around the country.
According to the builders, by integrating the container port with a logistics park, many common goods will be sent straight to the nation's shops without having to be hauled inland on trucks to a distribution centre many miles from the container port.
Instead, goods will go straight into London Gateway's logistics park to be sorted and then sent to retail destinations directly.
By reducing the need for goods to travel inland, the project claims it will keep 2,000 trucks off the UK's highways every day.
DP World estimates that by cutting out this part of the logistics process, London Gateway will take 52m truck miles off the UK's roads every year.
Using new technology, London Gateway will aim to move 50 per cent more containers per hour on and off ships than is currently being achieved in the UK.
Containers will be transferred automatically from the quay into a fully automated storage area. The new port will also offer other benefits, such as being more sustainable, creating less light pollution and less noise for the surrounding areas.
Dredging the Thames will be carried out to enable the world's largest ships to access the port. Dredging work will allow many other users of the river to benefit by allowing increased access to London.
Laing O'Rourke's Chief Operating Officer, Tony Douglas, said: "We look forward to working closely with DP World in ensuring, together, we create a world-class facility of which we can all be proud."
Dredging International CEO Alain Bernard said: "Dredging's team will deploy the latest equipment to ensure all aspects of the dredge are carried out to meet the UK's guidelines."
Construction will begin later this year at the 1,500-acre site, 25 miles from central London on the former Shell Haven oil refinery at Stanford-le-Hope near Thurrock, Essex. The logistics park, at 9.5 million square feet, is due to open in the second half of 2010, with the first ships arriving in early 2011.