Doha, Qatar – On 26 February 2015, the Deputy Emir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani officially started the controlled flooding operations for the new Hamad Port Project in the presence of His Highness Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Prime Minister and His Excellency Jassim Saif Al Sulaiti, the Minister of Transport.
The New Port Project Steering Committee awarded MEDCO (Middle East Dredging Company Q.S.C.) the QAR 4.5 billion (approx. 1 billion Euro) contract for the dredging and construction of the approach channel part for the ‘New Port Project’ in March 2012. MEDCO is a Qatari company jointly owned by United Development Company (UDC), DEME and Qatar Holding. The contract includes the dredging and excavation of some 45 million m3 of hard rock for the access channel, the land reclamation for a new 4.5 square km offshore Naval Base and the construction of two large outer breakwaters comprising 4.5 million ton of rock in total. A substantial portion of the New Port Project has been dry excavations. This dry portion of the new port – up to 15m below sea level – is protected from the sea by a temporary dike.
Thanks to the excellent progress made by MEDCO, the Client recognized the opportunity to start port operations early and engaged in an effort with the contractors to optimize the program. As a result, the Client has gained 7 months on the contractual milestone of marine access to the port and to the quay walls. Full completion of MEDCO’s Contract on the Project remains set for mid-January 2016.
