Challange

In the early 2000’s, the British Department for Transport was faced with a growing demand for handling container shipping around London. A proposal by Dubai Port (DP) World was approved for the construction of a completely new port and logistic park at the former Shell Haven site on the northern shore of the Thames, some 40 km east of London. Construction of the fully-automated London Gateway deepwater container port was a highly complex and large scale undertaking, carried out as a ‘design-and-build’ project in which Dredging International (hydraulic works) teamed up with Laing O'Rourke. Design requirements included the reclamation of a port platform and logistic park with an annual capacity of 3,5 million TEU; a 2,7 km long quay wall for ULCS’s of 397 m long, a draught of 15,5 m, and a capacity of 14.500 TEU containers each. Deepening of the Thames over a distance of 100 km, widening the navigation channel to 300 m and bringing it to a depth of minus 14,5 m to minus 16,5 m compared with the previous minus 10 m.