IMPROVING LONDON’S DOCKS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 2, 28 September 1937, Page 9

IMPROVING LONDON’S DOCKS

Large Amount To Be Spent

“Dominion'' Special—By Air .Mail

London, September 4,

The Fort of London Authority announced in May, .1936. that the docks ami warehouses bordering on the River Thames were to be improved and extended at a cost of £12,000,000. This progressive policy has been amply justified by the rapidly increasing traffic, and. the latest, returns show that last year the volume of shipping broke all previous records. According to the annual report recently issued by the Port of London Authority, the total net register tonnage of vessels using the Port of London during the calendar year 1936 was over 62,000,000, which is an increase of 2,500,000 on 1935, and 3,500.000 on 193-1. In order to avoid dislocation of traffic, the work of improvement has been carefully planned and will be carried out In sections. The expansion of Millwall Docks and the erection there of new timber storage sheds has been taken in hand recently; reconstruction is also in progress at the Victoria Docks and at the West India Docks. The latter are the oldest docks built for handling cargo on the River Thames, but when the work has been completed they will be the most modern and the best equipped of their type in tho world. At Canary Wharf, where the fruit boats are berthed, the whole quay is being ■widened for a distance of 620 feet in order to make room for new warehouses. and mechanical equipment is being installed which will unload bananas automatically and deliver them to lorries and railway vans. The complete development scheme provides for the building of a new graving dock, the improvement of roads ami railways and the modernisation of the 4200 acres of dockland and 45 miles of quays of the Port of London.