The French authorities are rebranding the important Port of Calais as "Britain's New Gateway" and plans are in place to significantly expand the facility by the end of the decade.

Organisations from the French port are coming to the UK to promote the site to businesses at an event in London this week, the Telegraph reports.

Owners of the maritime hub - Nord Pas de Calais Regional Council - had previously bid for the Port of Dover, but ultimately failed.

Nevertheless, Calais is set to receive a €400 million (£342 million) facelift, which will essentially double its capacity by 2018.

The work will allow the port - which is already the largest in Europe - to accommodate bigger ships and a €300 million, 160-hectare industrial park will also be developed later this year in an attempt to attract more freight organisations.

Department for Transport figures have suggested that activity at the UK's ports has been somewhat subdued in the past year, although an expansion of the Port of Felixstowe and the grand unveiling of the London Gateway project could give the industry a new lease of life.