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Landmark civil construction contracts heralding the start of work on Jebel Ali port’s new Container Terminal 4 (T4), which will be built on a reclaimed island, have been signed by DP World.
As part of Phase 1, Dutco Balfour Beatty will develop an operational yard area with a quay length of 1200m. In addition, BAM International Abu Dhabi will build a 400m bridge and adjacent causeways as well as a 2.2 km quay wall with an alongside water depth of 18m, designed to accommodate the largest new generation container vessels. CH2M HILL (Halcrow) will deliver the civil works on the reclaimed island north of Jebel Ali’s Terminal 2, which will be connected to the mainland by a 3000m long causeway.
Phase 1 of T 4 will add 3.1 million teu of capacity by 2018, taking Jebel Ali’s total annual container throughput capacity to 22.1 million teu. The port will be equipped with at least 110 cranes and will have a total quay length of around 11,000m by that time. Phase 1 will feature 13 of the world’s largest and most modern quayside gantry cranes, remotely operated from a control room off the quayside, as well as 35 Automated Rail Mounted Gantry cranes, which will operate in the yard areas.
H.E. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World Group chairman and chief executive officer, said: “This terminal is the big idea that will change the way ports work in the future. We will deploy the latest technology in equipping our quays and yards, and run them with the most sophisticated terminal operation systems.”
DP World will further expand T4’s capacity to a total of 7.8 million teu a year, in line with market demand, under a planned Phase 2. This will include an additional yard with a quay length of 1000 m that will be built by Dutco Balfour Beatty.
Jebel Ali and other DP World terminals in the UAE handled 15.6 million teu in 2015, with average utilisation at Jebel Ali running at approximately 90%. The latest investment is needed, DP World believes, to ensure it continues to provide the capacity required ahead of demand.
