Challenging assumptions
31 Aug 2010
Pipavav: met the complex issues of savings, deadlines, contracts and the extra draught – a win for everyone concerned.
There’s no doubt many ports and terminal operation were dismayed to find they had land reclamation contracts carefully poised on a set of assumptions that fell apart when the world seemingly changed overnight.
Challenging assumptions
There’s no doubt many port and terminal operators were dismayed to find they had land reclamation contracts carefully poised on a set of assumptions that fell apart when the global economy changed overnight.
However, APM Terminals Pipavav managed to pull off an impressive hat-trick despite having signed the contracts for the civil works just as the downturn bit. The project needed large-scale dredging and reclamation works, with a high proportion of rock removal. APM Terminals had talks with the dredging company, consulting engineer and port people to see what could be done, says Paul van Weert.
“These were committed contracts we had to respect – and were obviously difficult to renegotiate,” he says. “We looked at capital expenditure to see if we could eliminate non-essential dredging and trim the whole reclamation project, cancelling some parts and postponing other areas to a later stage.”
However, all this took time and pushed the project towards the oncoming monsoon season, so discussions also involved the mobilisation of additional equipment. “Despite the problems, we were able to make savings and complete the project on time, while still offering Pipavav the much-needed draught.”
‘Despite the problems, we were able to make savings and complete the project on time’
Paul van Weert, APM Terminals
There’s no doubt many port and terminal operators were dismayed to find they had land reclamation contracts carefully poised on a set of assumptions that fell apart when the global economy changed overnight.
However, APM Terminals Pipavav managed to pull off an impressive hat-trick despite having signed the contracts for the civil works just as the downturn bit. The project needed large-scale dredging and reclamation works, with a high proportion of rock removal. APM Terminals had talks with the dredging company, consulting engineer and port people to see what could be done, says Paul van Weert.
“These were committed contracts we had to respect – and were obviously difficult to renegotiate,” he says. “We looked at capital expenditure to see if we could eliminate non-essential dredging and trim the whole reclamation project, cancelling some parts and postponing other areas to a later stage.”
However, all this took time and pushed the project towards the oncoming monsoon season, so discussions also involved the mobilisation of additional equipment. “Despite the problems, we were able to make savings and complete the project on time, while still offering Pipavav the much-needed draught.”
‘Despite the problems, we were able to make savings and complete the project on time’
Paul van Weert, APM Terminals
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