News – July 10, 2008
A joint venture of Dredging International and Boskalis Westminster Middle East has been awarded a contract by the leading development company Nakheel for the construction and expansion of Port Rashid in Dubai.
The JV will execute the works in a 50/50 partnership. Dredging International will be the managing partner in the joint venture. In a joint effort both companies will mobilise some of the biggest trailing suction hopper dredges in the world for the execution of the work.
The contract is worth approximately 2.2 billion AED (Euros 390 million). Work will commence immediately and the project will be executed over a period of two and a half years.
The project includes a sizeable amount of land reclamation including the construction of a breakwater and shore protection. A total of approximately 86 million m3 of sand will be dredged in order to reclaim 540 hectares of new land which includes the preparations for the construction of a new cruise terminal with 3.4 kilometres of quay walls.
It is, however, the intention of Nakheel to conclude a contract for a total of 110 million m3 of reclamation in accordance with the masterplan.
Four to six large trailing suction hopper dredgers will be deployed on the project.
The project is a direct consequence of the redevelopment of Port Rashid, the original key port of Dubai. Since all the harbour trade activities have been moved to the Port of Jebel Ali, Port Rashid has become available for the development of real estate
The huge reclamation contract in Dubai’s Port Rashid is the fifth major project Dredging International has recently obtained in the Gulf – after the Pearl of the Gulf (Qatar), and the Al Raha Beach development in Abu Dhabi, the Al Marjan and Al Dana artificial islands at Ras-al-Khaimah.
The latter Euros 350 million contract was awarded to Dredging International only a couple of days ago.