NEWS\\\


Issue 4 2014 - Freight Business Journal


7


Building starts on


common user site, but M&S drops plans


DP World has awarded Buckingham Group the contract to build the Common User Facility at London Gateway Logistics Park. With ground preparation and infrastructure development


complete,


Buckingham Group is now mobilising to start construction, with the new logistics centre planned for completion in early 2015. The 375,000sq ſt centre will be built in two phases. DP World chairman Sultan


Ahmed Bin Sulayem described it as “a highly significant milestone for both DP World London Gateway and London Gateway Logistics Park because it opens the doors for UK importers and exporters both large and small to shorten their supply chains and take advantage of the UK’s most modern port to bring their goods close to the major market of London and the South East.” It also offers customers the chance to share warehousing and transport costs, saving costs while improving their own


customer service with shorter replenishment cycles, he said. But there was also


disappointment for the new London port aſter Marks & Spencer announced that it would not proceed with a major planned logistics facility there, instead opting to develop its inland distribution facilities including the new facility at Castle Donington opened last May. A DP World London Gateway commented: “We


spokesman


continue to be a port of choice for M&S traffic and we will keep moving forward with them to support their business development


objectives and


reduce their supply costs.” M&S’s decision appeared to be motivated by a need to cut capital expenditure, he added. He played down the


significance of M&S’s decision, saying: “We have recently announced five new shipping line services to the world and a major new deal on the Logistics Park.”


Another scalp for London Gateway as second berth opens


One of the transatlantic loops of the G6 Consortium is to move from Felixstowe to London Gateway. Management of the new London port announced at the DP World-sponsored VIP dinner on 29 April that the PA2 service, which operates from the US West Coast would switch as part of a wide-ranging reorganisation that will see the G6 consortium – Hapag Lloyd, APL, MOL, OOCL, NYK and Hyundai - extend its activities to the transatlantic sector as well as the existing Europe/Asia cooperation. The route will operate weekly, with 4,500teu ships and the first call was by an APL vessel on 15 May. It effectively replaces the New World Alliance (APL, HMM, and MOL) transatlantic service which called at Felixstowe. DP World London Gateway’s


Simon Moore also told the dinner that the port had signed a deal with specialist logistics property developer Prologis to build a 315,000sq ſt speculative logistics facility. It will be available from early 2015 , “on very competitive terms,” said a Prologis spokesman. Peter Ward,


commercial


director, DP World London Gateway, said: “The Prologis facility will go through the new London Gateway Local Development Order (LDO) that is now in place to fast-track development. The LDO massively reduces the planning process, saving huge amounts of time and money, whilst protecting the environment. This is just one example of how we have worked to make it easier for industry to get the best solutions in place, quickly, efficiently and reliably, which is at the heart of what we aim to do.”


Meanwhile London Gateway


has opened its second berth, heralding a major expansion of services at the UK’s newest deepsea gateway. Effectively doubling capacity, the new berth will


allow five new shipping


routes to North America, South America east and west coast, the Middle East, and Europe are starting. As well as the new G6


transatlantic service, they include Hamburg Sud and Hapag Lloyd services to South America and the Middle East which have also recently started. On 2 May, London Gateway received the ‘Santa Rosa’ to start the SAEC1 Service (South America East Coast) and, on 5 May, Hapag Lloyd’s ‘Dublin Express’ called to commence the SAWC1 service (South America West Coast). On


the following day, Hapag Lloyd’s ‘Tabea’ called, starting up the EPIC service (Europe Pakistan India Consortium and also known as Hapag Lloyd Indian Ocean Service). DP World London Gateway


has meanwhile signed a deal with X-Press Feeders for a weekly service linking London Gateway directly with Dublin and Rotterdam, with the first call on 11 May. Tabare Dominguez, port commercial manager, DP World London Gateway, said: “It’s an important step forward to continue increasing the geographical coverage of London Gateway, in this case to connect DP World London Gateway directly with the Irish market.” Freightliner and DB Schenker


are now providing daily services to more inland rail destinations.


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