Global ports operator DP World said its terminal at London Gateway had handled its 10 millionth container, nine years after the smart logistics hub opened for business.
London Gateway last year transported 1.8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), an increase of almost 650 per cent compared with its first full year of operations in 2014, DP World said on Monday.
A new £350 million ($402.6m) fourth berth will further increase capacity by a third when it opens in 2024.
“After the disruption of recent years, shipping lines and cargo owners are looking for capacity, reliability and growth opportunities," Ernst Schulze, UK chief executive of DP World, said.
"We are providing it, enabling customers to move goods smoothly and efficiently in and out of the UK and across their supply chains.
“Within a decade, London Gateway is likely to be handling up to 30 per cent of the country's containerised trade. Its port-centric logistics park will be one of the largest in Europe, employing 12,000 people and underpinned by investment in a second rail terminal and a new fourth berth.”
DP World in the UK operates two deep water ports at London Gateway and Southampton with access to freight rail terminals. It also operates a logistics park and a software business providing online links to customers and border control.
The company said in July that London Gateway had handled more than one million TEUs in the first six months of this year, a record for the port.
This contributed to a record volume of cargo in the first half of the year for DP World’s ports in the UK, with a combined total of 1,937,000 TEUs when factoring in throughput at Southampton.
Over the past 10 years, DP World has invested £2 billion in the UK, supporting thousands of jobs.
It has further earmarked £1bn of investment for the next decade, which seeks to be "a catalyst for the regeneration of some of the most deprived areas in the country", the company said.
