Double deal for consultants

Royal Haskoning was appointed by Yemen Investment & Development International Ltd (Yeminvest) as designers of Aden’s transhipment container terminal comprising 700m of quay and 60ha of reclamation. The terminal is located on the northern shore of Aden’s Inner Harbour and forms part of the Aden Free Zone development.

The terminal was designed to accept the next generation of container ships, with provision for up to 18m of water depth alongside the quay. The existing entrance channel was dredged to -15.5m initially to allow access to the largest container ships at all times.

The initial ‘phase one’ development was completed in 1999 and was designed with a capacity to handle an annual throughput of 500,000TEUs and two post-Panamax container ships at any one time.

The development included 700m of container berth, 28ha of paved storage area, dredging of 11m cu metres from the 6km long channel and 3km long harbour area to a depth of -15.5m. Offices, a container freight station, workshops, other ancillary buildings and improvements to the access causeway were also part of the development.

“Since Aden Container Terminal became operational in 1999, it has attracted considerable container traffic and there will be further development, ” says Jonathan Tyler, director at Royal Haskoning. “We are certainly keen to be involved in whatever further capacity might be appropriate as we believe we can continue to put our experience of large-scale port developments to good use. As with many significant projects in the Middle East and elsewhere, one of the challenges we faced during phase one was the procurement of suitable materials and other resources. For example, materials for much of the construction work were sourced from Malaysia. This is a typical demonstration of the need for international partnerships between consultants, contractors and suppliers.”

EXCITING PART OF THE WORLD In the past few weeks, work has completed on another project, this time the provision of consultancy services for a new 330m jetty and associated dredging works again in Aden’s Inner Harbour. The jetty was commissioned by Longulf Trading to accommodate Panamax vessels for the import of wheat to the adjacent flour mill on the outer berth and general cargo vessels on the inner berth.

An initial feasibility study was undertaken including cost comparisons for different types of construction and advice on procurement strategies. Royal Haskoning then produced the full detailed design of a piled jetty and associated dredging, reclamation and revetment works.

Royal Haskoning’s duties also included production of tender documents, review of tenders and support during tender negotiations.

The firm also provided site supervision for the dredging and reclamation contract, head office technical support and visiting specialists for the construction phase.

“This project shows the ongoing investment that is happening in Aden, ” says Tyler. “It’s an exciting part of the world for anyone in the ports sector to be involved in and we see our involvement there as an important part of our future in the Middle East.”