DP World praised by British PM over London Gateway

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, while visiting the site of DP World’s $1.5bn deep sea port project just outside London, announced the Dubai terminals giant’s move to press ahead with the development was “a massive vote of confidence in the UK’s economy.”

The visit coincided with an announcement from DP World that construction work has now started on the project.

"The London Gateway is a significant foreign investment," said Brown.

"I am delighted with the decision to locate this world-class project here in the UK.”

Brown added that the site would generate up to 36,000 jobs.

Local politicians had feared that DP World, a subsidiary of Dubai World, might withdraw from the project as its parent company attempts to restructure $26bn debt.

But as one of the best-performing assets of Dubai World’s group of companies, DP World has not been included in the restructuring process of its parent company.

DP World confirmed on Monday that it had bought out Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s remaining stake in the site, which will include a deep water port, a logistics park and the redevelopment of an oil refinery.