Dubai's DP World to invest 1.5 bln pounds in UK port http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-11-11T214511Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-275884-2.xml
Sat Nov 11, 2006
By Will Rasmussen
DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai Ports World, the third-largest container port operator, said on Saturday it will invest 1.5 billion pounds ($2.87 billion) developing a harbour complex in southeast Britain to plug a capacity shortfall.
DP World, which in February paid $6.8 billion for British ports operator P&0, will develop the port and a business park as part of the London Gateway Project at Thurrock, Essex, state-owned Dubai World, the owner of DP World, said in a statement.
"The UK is suffering from a capacity shortage," DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem told Reuters. Through its P&O purchase, DP World already operates ports at Southampton and Tilbury.
The plans at Thurrock, east of London, include a quay big enough to handle 3.5 million containers a year, Dubai World said. DP World would begin construction as early as next month after winning government approval, DP World Chief Executive Mohammad Sharaf told Reuters.
"It will be the closest port to (London) and the Olympics coming in 2012 will further put pressure on capacity," Sharaf said.
DP World will buy the necessary land, formerly the site of an oil refinery, from Royal Dutch Shell for an undisclosed amount.
Developing the 1,500 acre site east of London will generate more than 14,000 jobs, the company said.
DP World, which has a capacity of 50 million containers a year, is expanding in India, China and the Middle East. It handled 37 million containers last year, Sharaf said.
Dubai, a trading and commercial hub in the world's largest energy-exporting region, has led a Gulf Arab surge in foreign acquisitions this year, spending $12.5 billion on real estate and stakes in companies.
Global investors are seeking to buy ports in part because container shipping is growing at a faster rate than world trade, ratings agency Standard & Poor's said last month. Investors are also increasingly interested in the prime real estate upon which the ports are located, S&P said.
(Additional reporting by James Cordahi)
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