WORK is well under way at a billion-pound superport in Thurrock, despite the demise of a key government quango.

DP World said work was progressing at the site of the deep sea port on the former Shell Haven oil refinery site, in Coryton.

The Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation had been responsible for the planning conditions imposed on the site, but it is to be absorbed into Thurrock Council from April 2012.

Despite this, DP World – the Middle Eastern based firm building the London Gateway port – says its plans are unaffected.

Spokesman Xavier Woodward said: “We are aware of the situation. We work with both regional and central government and we are looking forward to a smooth transition.

“We have reclaimed about five million cubic metres of land through dredging so far.

“It’s a huge construction site now with more than 300 people working on site each day, and it’s only going to get bigger.”

The development of the port is expected to take several years, but DP World says it can’t give a date for completion, or a even a target because it’s “down to market demand”.

When it does open, the port will have the best access for deep-drafted vessels in the UK with the inner channel 14.5 metres deep and the outer channel, 16.5 metres.

It will have up to six berths which can accommodate container ships, and have automatic stacking facilities for containers, meaning work is less likely to be disrupted by difficult weather conditions.

Opposite will be Europe’s largest logistics park, with more than nine-million square feet of space for distribution, manufacturing and high-tech industries.

Development Corporation spokeswoman Sarah Barnes said: “The process of the discharge of the various planning conditions imposed on the development will take a number of years to complete. It is envisaged that there will be minimal impact on the development from this transfer.”