London Gateway, located about 25 miles east of central London on the north bank of the river Thames, is a staged 1.5 billion pound ($2.3 billion) development embracing the container port itself as well as what is expected to be Europe’s largest logistics park.

The world’s third-largest port operator said that it would invest another $1 billion on the project over the next three years, having already spent $600 million, with construction under way since January last year.

“The funds for the project are coming from the resources of the company and international financial institutions. They are already in place,” Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of DP World, said.

“These projects are not something that would be affected by the (euro zone debt) crisis. They are long-term.”

The port will have an initial container capacity of 1.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).

DP World is considered one of the more profitable units of debt-laden Dubai World which reached a near $26 billion debt deal with creditors last year.

The port operator also said it has awarded four port equipment contracts, which includes a partnership with Cargotec for port automation. Cargotec said separately that the project is worth around 100-150 million euros. 

The operator, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange earlier this year, also reported a four-fold increase in its first-half profits as it booked gains from the sale of its Australian port operations last year.

Its shares were down 2.3 percent at 650 pence on the London stock exchange.