DP World (DPW) has ambitious plans to increase capacity at Jebel Ali by more than seven times, making it the world’s biggest container port.
Halcrow not only prepared the masterplan for this massive expansion programme, but also carried out the detailed design and supervised construction of the first stage of development.
Halcrow's masterplan included a comprehensive market analysis, forecasts for growth in both containerised and non-containerised cargo, a forecast of vessel size growth, a detailed study of container handling operations, extensive hydrodynamic computer modelling, and a computerised ‘fast-time’ vessel navigation simulation, followed by an analysis of alternative development scenarios to meet the projected growth.
Initially, the dramatic expansion requirements for Jebel Ali Port were considered almost impossible to achieve, technically and financially, because of the severe restrictions imposed by existing industry, infrastructure, and residential / recreational developments along the coast near the port.
Halcrow's solution was to expand the port offshore and configure it in such a way as to positively impact adjacent facilities. All stakeholders were brought into the planning process and all their objections were addressed and overcome.
Having accepted the masterplan, DPW asked Halcrow to implement the first phase of the expansion, known as Container Terminal 2. This terminal consists of 2,600m of new quay wall designed for a water depth of 18m and suited to 380m long super-post-Panamax container vessels with a beam of 55m and a draft of 15.5m.
The quay wall supports the world’s largest container cranes, designed specifically for the project, which have a gauge of 42m and can lift four 20ft containers simultaneously. A new container storage yard, equipment operating areas, service areas, buildings, and ancillary facilities occupy 182ha (450 acres).
Other major elements of the project include 2km of rubble mound breakwater, armoured with rock or salvaged concrete armour unit, 6.6km of rock armoured revetments, a floating security barrier and navigation aids.
Half of the terminal area is on land that was originally a soil disposal area when the existing port was built in the early 1980s. This area required considerable soil improvement. The remainder was created by using some of the 25 million m3 of soft rock material dredged from the seabed.
The remaining dredged material was used to create an island opposite the new quay wall, which shelters the eight container vessel berths from wave action. In the future, this island will serve as the base for the next stage of the Jebel Ali Port expansion.
Dredging and placing this seabed material is essential to the expansion of the port, but achieving this in close proximity to existing cooling and desalination seawater intakes, without causing suspended sediment concentrations that would disrupt operations and damage equipment, posed a complex problem. It required thorough hydrodynamic computer modelling of littoral drift patterns, and evaluation of dredging techniques, dredged spoil retention concepts, and screening techniques, along with a comprehensive monitoring procedure, to develop a solution that would satisfy all stakeholders.
Adding to the complexity was the need to schedule and coordinate the work of the quay wall contractor and the dredging contractor. Also, the work of these contractors had to be scheduled and coordinated so that the terminal area rough grade would be available to suit the schedule of the contractor constructing the terminal facilities. The Halcrow supervision team was on site throughout the three-year construction period.
Metocean
Halcrow undertook an intensive 30 day field study to establish the baseline oceanographic and meteorological conditions and acquire sufficient data to permit a sustainable port expansion design. This was achieved via the calibration and verification of a number of hydrodynamic, wave transformation, sediment transport and water quality models to assess the impact of the proposed expansion on the marine environment and adjacent infrastructures at Jebel Ali Port. Synoptic current, salinity and temperature data were acquired over 12 complete tidal cycles