The Futuristic London Gateway Port Terminal

The London Gateway Port Terminal or the London Gateway is the latest shipping constructional addition outskirts the city of London, on the Thames River at its North in the South-east county of Essex. Presently being constructed, the envisioning for the deep sea container port started as early as 2007 with several reformative steps taken so as to bring it to viable fruition.

The Gateway is the brainchild of a Dubai-based shipping conglomerate DP World which has presence in several countries, even outside its native United Arab Emirates. Following the successful completion of the London Gateway and the resuming of container shipping operations, the port is expected to bridge the gap between container shipping demands and supply.

London Gateway

In parallel, it’s also expected to reduce the onus placed on other porting facilities while generating a more feasible shipping transportation route by lessening the burden on road-based shipping infrastructure operations. The latter aspect is seen as a key promissory facet in terms of reduction in the emission of noxious gases through the usage of road-based transportation systems to ensure continuity in container shipping operations.

London Gateway: Key Facets

  • The deep sea container port is expected to begin operations by the end of the next year with constructional costs totalling up to almost US$ eight billion
  • This cost includes not just the construction of the port terminal but also of the several ancillary-yet-necessary facilities to aid the whole container shipping processes
London Gateway Port Terminal
  • The port facility comes equipped with several state-of-the-art technological instrumentations so as to revolutionise and speed up the container shipping processes
  • The location of the port facility is a former Shell oil plant with excellent proximity to the central and south-east parts of the country’s capital

Spanning an area of about 175 hectares, the London Gateway Port Terminal promises to provide employment opportunities to over 30,000 people whilst offering never-seen-before container shipping feasibilities. With a total wharf length of 2.7 kilometres with six container berthing facilities, the London Gateway will have an annual container handling turnover of over three-point-five million TEUs.

Gateway Scepticisms

Though the deep sea container port is seen as a revolutionary shipping facility, there have been several criticisms surrounding the port’s construction. The currently plaguing downward economic trends have allowed detractors to be highly critical of the port’s viability and the cost factor incurred in the Gateway’s overall development.

Proposed London Gateway Port

However in spite of the duality of the criticisms and the accolades surrounding the port’s construction, considering that the container shipping operations haven’t yet commenced in the Gateway, its actual workability and viability continues to remain shrouded in expectation and anticipation.

You may also like to read-  Marine Terminals : Providing Utility with a Difference

References: londongateway, guardian, bbc

Image Credits: peterjcooper, tesun

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