Simon Moore, the chief executive of the London Gateway for DP World, has been with the project since the beginning.
"It's a project I have overseen from drawing board to reality," he said.
"When you have a project like that, from the very first decision-making stage, when you have to decide whether to do it or not to do it, that is a project that is as about as exciting as it gets."
After joining DP World in 2003, Mr Moore took a leading role in the group's acquisition of P&O in 2006.
"The idea for London Gateway started as a joint venture between Shell and P&O and was on the books when we took over. But it hadn't been approved by the UK government.
"So we spent a lot of time understanding what the opportunities were. That took more than six months to think through the project.
"It was only when we'd convinced ourselves that this was the right thing to do, not just for DP World but for the UK economy, and that was when we went ahead.
"But it was always a business model we were comfortable with. We understood the attractions of a deepwater hub and logistics centre combined, where we were the owner of the land, the port and the infrastructure."
London Gateway, he said, was designed to let DP World exploit the increasing United Kingdom market demand for access to Asia. It was there to directly connect the port with its customers.
"We will not be a spoke in someone else's hub," said Mr Moore. "Our hinterland will be directly connected to Asia and cargo will spend less time on the road."
To achieve this, Mr Moore had to work with 16 direct contractors. The task included raising the entire site by 2 metres to avert flood threats to the infrastructure.
More than 150 stakeholders had to be satisfied, including the UK government and environmentalists.
In addition to complying with all the planning and infrastructure criteria, there was a £50 million (Dh297.3m) programme to protect the environment, both during construction and after the port becomes operational.
Under the deal, ecologists have been collecting thousands of animals such as voles, Great Crested newts, adders, grass snakes and lizards to relocate them to new homes.
Additionally, 24 new ponds on 53 hectares of land have been created for the protected species as well a new sea wall and new mudflats for wading birds.
A team of 36 archaeologists has also been at work on the site, which has been in continuous use as an industrial and trading centre for more than 2,000 years, uncovering a Roman era salt making mill, as well as earlier Iron Age factories.
dblack@thenational.ae
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)