Global logistics giant DP World has today announced a £1bn expansion of London Gateway, after threatening to pull the deal last week, after two government ministers criticised the employment practices of its subsidiary P&O Ferries.

However, following talks with the British government, DP World is back in the fold, confirming the deal will go ahead and announcing it at today’s UK’s International Investment Summit, which aims to attract billions of pounds of investment to the UK.

The deal with DP World came under threat last week after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh described P&O as a “rogue operator” and said consumers should boycott the company, whilst announcing new laws to protect workers’ rights.She was referring to P&O’s controversial decision to sack 800 ferry staff in March 2020 and replace them with cheaper, largely foreign workers - a move P&O said at the time was necessary to save the company.

In a press release issued with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Haigh said P&O’s actions were “a national scandal” and Rayner described it as “an outrageous example of manipulation by an employer”.

Announcing the deal, DP World said its £1bn investment aims to make London Gateway Britain’s largest container port within five years.

It will see DP World increase capacity at London Gateway by building two new shipping berths, taking the number of berths at the port able to receive the world’s largest container ships to a total of six.

The site will also see a second rail terminal added to handle the expected increase in containerised trade.

The company said that by the end of the decade, the full 25m long quayside will be able to simultaneously receive six vessels, each more than 400 metres long, and will also boast Europe’s tallest quay cranes, which are over 96m high - the height of London’s Big Ben.

The expansion will create a further 400 permanent new jobs, in addition to the 1,200 currently employed at the site and take the total invested by DP World at London Gateway to more than £3bn.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, DP World group chairman and chief executive officer, said: “DP World London Gateway will help make Britain’s trade flow in the future by connecting domestic exporters with global markets and delivering vital supply chain resilience for the whole economy. I am proud of this major investment which underlines DP World’s long-term commitment to the UK.”

Ernst Schulze, DP World chief executive for ports and terminals, added: “As this commitment demonstrates, London Gateway’s location and transport infrastructure are ideally placed for expansion.

“With extra capacity comes the reliability and supply chain resilience so important to our customers and consumers, especially in uncertain times such as the pandemic and disruption due to geopolitical events.”

Subject to planning approval and regulatory requirements, the expansion is expected to significantly increase the volume of trade at the port which currently handles approximately nearly 2 million TEU annually.

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