Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) has announced the award of an AED1 billion (US$280 million) contract to a joint venture between ED Zublin and Al Jaber Transport and General Contracting for its flagship Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) project.
The agreement is for the detailed design, construction, fit-out, testing and commissioning of the offshore port's civil and structural building works, which will provide the infrastructure necessary to support the commencement of port operations in 2012. Work is due to begin immediately and is scheduled for completion in August 2012.
Major elements of the project include the construction of 23 buildings and associated structures, including the terminal operations building – a six storey construction which will become the port's centre of operations.
Other significant buildings include an offshore clinic, fire station, harbour master building, worker services building, four 11kV substations and maintenance and repair workshops.
In addition, there is over one kilometre of quay wall and associated marine fenders and bollards, a 5.4-kilometre dual carriageway linking the offshore port to the mainland with associated, service roads, street lighting and two helipads.
Located midway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the Taweelah industrial district, KPIZ will commence operations in 2012 and over the long term to 2030 will comprise 420 square-kilometres of prime industrial land organised into vertically integrated clusters for aluminium, petrochemicals, glass, paper and other major sectors.
The first phase 1 of Khalifa Port will open in 2012, replacing Abu Dhabi's existing main port of Mina Zayed. The new port will have an initial capacity of two million TEU of containers and nine million tonnes of general cargo.
The dedicated EMAL berth will be operational later this year. When all phases of Khalifa Port are completed, it will have a capacity of 15 million TEU of containers and 35 million tonnes of general cargo.
