Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) and Van Oord have officially confirmed that a consortium consisting of Boskalis, Van Oord, National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) of Abu Dhabi and Jan de Nul (Belgium) has won a major contract from the Suez Canal Authorities for the next phase of the New Suez Canal dredging works.
Prime Minister Dr. Ibrahim Mehleb, Admiral Mohab Mameesh of the Suez Canal Authority, as well as ambassadors from the relevant countries were present during the signing ceremony, amongst them Ambassador Gerard Steeghs.
The contract, one of the largest in recent history, is estimated to be worth around $1.5 billion with each partner entitled to an equal share of $375 million.
The New Suez Canal will partially run in parallel to the current waterway and partially entail widening and deepening of existing parts thereof. The contract includes the construction of the parallel section of the canal with a length of approximately 50 kilometers to allow ships to simultaneously transit in two directions as well as the widening and deepening of a number of existing sections to a depth of 24 meters.
Expansion works on the New Suez Canal will be supported by a fleet of 17 cutter suction dredgers. The project will commence in 2014 and is expected to be completed in 2015.
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Dredging Today Staff