Q&A: PLA’s civil engineer and project manager Dan Johnson tells us about the Denton Berth redevelopment project

Over the next three years, we’re investing more than £40 million in new projects that will support our ambitions for increased port trade growth and our long-term goal of remaining the UK’s largest port.  

To ensure that these projects remain aligned to our strategic objectives, we’re introducing a new way of managing projects in the PLA. A central part of this new approach is the introduction of the Vision12, the top 12 strategic projects within the PLA. 

The Vision12 is a diverse portfolio of projects that will support our ambitions for increased port trade growth over the next 30 years as part of Thames Vision 2050.  

Denton Berth Redevelopment is one of the Vision12 and to find out more about the project we spoke to Dan Johnson, the project manager and one of the PLA’s civil engineers. 

Q. What does the Denton Berth project involve? 

A: Our three up river pontoons at Denton; Albert, Victoria and Hope Enterprise (which has already been removed recently and temporarily replaced with CRT One Pontoon!) have all come to the end of their working life and are in dire need of replacement. This project will replace the current arrangement with three brand new 60m custom built pontoons. 

Q. What will be the benefits of doing this? 

A: The new pontoons will create additional berthing space for all internal PLA operations and third-party partners. Ensuring the safety of our people and river users is our priority and this new revitalised facility will ensure this going forwards. The new modern facility will also hopefully allow for easier and less maintenance by our colleagues in the future. 

Q. What’s the timeline with the project? 

A: We started the initial feasibility design of this project back in May 2023 and it is programmed to finish 3 years later at the back end of 2026. The vast majority of this time will be made up of the design and fabrication of the pontoons, with the actual physical work (including installation of 3 new monopiles) of replacing the old pontoons with the new ones only taking a few months. One of the main priorities of the site works is to have as little impact on our operations and nearby river users as possible. This will mean working closely with the marine contractor to carefully programme the different stages. 

Denton Berth redevelopment project visualisation 

Q. What stage are we currently at? 

A: We are currently in the detailed design phase of the project, which has been a group effort from the entire project team. A special thanks to the Marine Engineering and Marine Services team for their help with the design development. The design will need to be finalised in the coming weeks as the pontoons are set begin fabrication at the start of April. Dutch shipbuilders Damen will be manufacturing these pontoons from one of their shipyards in Yichang, China. Once ready, which is due to be late 2025, the pontoons will be floated down the Yangtze River into Shanghai where they will be transported via heavy lift vessel to Rotterdam before final checks and being floated across the channel to Gravesend in May 2026. Quite a journey! 

Q. What have you enjoyed about working on this project? 

A: Working on a large project like this I get the opportunity to work with the wider PLA team, with the likes of Procurement, Legal, Health and Safety, Planning and Finance. I also work closely with Marine Services and Marine Engineering, who are effectively my clients for this project. I try to make sure we’re delivering it in a way that works for them at the same time as keeping things on track and to plan. Of recent I have spent a fair amount of time down at Denton talking to the guys in person and making sure they are happy with what’s going on. As a project manager you get to work with a lot of different people. I’ve also enjoyed taking on responsibility for a project of this size and while as a civil engineer I know about managing projects, I’m learning a lot about the finer details of project management, which is both useful and interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing it get completed.