Norton Rose Fulbright has acted on the £1.5bn development of London Gateway, the UK's first port to open in more than two decades.

The site – which officially opened this month – is based in a 1,500 acre port and logistics park on the north bank of the Thames in Thurrock, Essex.

Norton Rose has been advising on the development since it was first conceived almost 14 years ago.

The firm's most recent client on the development has been DP World, though the initial instruction came from legacy client P&O, prior to the company's acquisition by Dubai Ports in 2006. Construction on London Gateway began in 2010.

London head of real estate David Sinclair led a team including real estate partners David Hawkins and Neil Biswas, environment partner Caroline May, planning partner Nigel Hewitson, corporate partners Mark Lloyd Williams and Chris Randall, and power and construction partners Nick Pincott and Donald Warnock.

Additional support came from procurement partner Mark Jones and disputes partner Philip Roche.

Once the project is fully developed, London Gateway will be the UK's biggest container port and the largest logistics park in Europe, capable of handling the world's largest container ships and 3.5m containers annually.

"We have been advising on this development since its inception, almost 14 years ago, and it has been a tremendously exciting and complex project to support," commented Sinclair.

"Now open, London Gateway has the potential to transform the UK logistics market and will bring significant commercial and environmental benefits to the local and wider communities as well as promoting more efficient UK trade."