London’s New Container Shipping Port Shows the Way to Economic Recovery

The development of the new deepwater port at the mouth of the Thames has already made a significant investment in the economy of Britain by creating a huge number of jobs for its construction. The London Gateway will be at the forefront of technological innovation in the intermodal freight network and it is estimated that the port facilities alone will create 12,000 new jobs1 to handle the 3.5 million containers that its capacity will allow. The London Gateway will be Europe’s largest intermodal logistics hub and it is planned to be directly linked to road and rail arteries to make it the most efficient as well. This will ensure that the speed of delivery to market and the reduction of vehicles that travel ’empty miles’ will maximize the benefits of the new facilities2. This efficiency will also spread the benefits of the £3.2 billion in annual income that the new port is expected to earn. This will hopefully also transport the prosperity that is generated by the operation along the same network that it moves cargo. The demand for skilled labor to operate the terminal and other services that support the development have already had a knock on effect by generating employment in the training sector and manufacturing industries across Britain which in turn has generated a far greater economic stimulus than the original £1.5 billion3 directly invested in the project by DP World. Although some analysts were skeptical of the viability of building such a large freight handling facility at a time when the world’s economy has been flat, the recent return to strong economic growth, especially in the transport industry, has encouraged renewed enthusiasm for the benefits that are expected to be generated in Britain by the London Gateway project. The key to this potential prosperity is in the logistics park that is being constructed next to the port facilities. This freight hub has the potential to employ thousands and increase the efficient handling of freight across Britain and Europe but it requires some of the major transport companies to shift their center of operations to the site in order to take advantage of it3. As Europe slowly heads back towards economic stability, Britain is in the enviable position of having maintained its own economy better than its neighbors. This makes the London Gateway potentially one of the best stimulus investments that have been made in Britain’s future prosperity. References: 1. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/london-deepwater-container-shipping-port-offers-job-opportunities_4455 2. http://www.londongateway.com/port/port-overview 3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18970869