A multi-purpose maritime facility that will provide the necessary logistics infrastructure for Abu Dhabi's growing industrial and commercial sections has been constructed approximately 4.6 kilometres off the shores of Taweelah.
Halcrow was retained by Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADP) to provide the planning, environmental, and management services for the port facilities of the proposed development of the Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone at Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi. The new port is designed to accommodate the current and future marine traffic served by the principal port of Abu Dhabi, Mina Zayed, which is to be closed, and to create a gateway for the import and export of raw materials and finished products from the industrial zone.
The port is on an artificial island complex 4 km offshore. Developed in five stages, by 2030 the port will have 7.4 km of quay for 22 container berths, 12.6 km of quay for 63 general cargo and RO-RO berths, and 2.4 km of quay for six dry bulk berths. This will accommodate annually 12 million TEU of containerized cargo, 16 million tonnes of general and RO-RO cargo, and 25 million tonnes of dry bulk.
The project will create 1,200 ha of reclaimed land using the material dredged from the access channel and port basins. It will be linked to shore by a causeway formed as a solid bund for most of its length, with a 1 km opening spanned by a bridge to allow water to circulate. The exposed faces of the port island and causeway will be protected using rock or concrete armor units. The quay walls will be constructed from solid concrete blocks keyed together. Pavements, cargo handling equipment, roads, buildings, and utility supplies will be installed on the island to create the marine terminals.
Halcrow conducted a pre-master plan study to determine the feasibility of a new port and industrial zone at Al Taweelah. This included a Met Ocean data collection campaign that had as its objective establishment of the baseline conditions to permit the calibration and verification of a number of hydrodynamic wave transformation, sediment transport, and water quality numerical models developed by Halcrow to assess the impact of the proposed development on the marine environment and adjacent marine infrastructure.
Subsequent to this, Halcrow carried out four separate, but highly interdependent assignments: port master plan, marine infrastructure impact assessment (MIIA), environmental impact assessment (EIA), and site investigations. In addition, it provided the project management necessary to ensure these assignments were fully coordinated.
Innovations
The port will reside on an artificial island, 4 km offshore. Developed in five stages, by 2030 it will offer container, general cargo, roll-on-roll-off, and dry bulk berths. The island will be created using material dredged from the access channel and port basins. It will be linked to shore by a causeway with a 1 km opening spanned by a bridge to allow water to circulate. A 9 km-long breakwater protects the environmentally sensitive area from the effects of construction and port operations.
Benefits
The economy of the emirate of Abu Dhabi is almost totally dependent on the petroleum sector. A major objective of the government is to diversify the economy and create additional sectors that can be self-sustaining and assure the prosperity of Abu Dhabi into the future. To achieve this, a new industrial zone is being created in which major industries, and supporting commercial, logistics, and services industries, can flourish. These industries will create employment opportunities and, in turn, create the need for a new town to provide housing, schools, and the myriad services these workers and their families will require. A key element in this vision is Khalifa Port.
The new port is located at a relatively undeveloped location on the coast of Abu Dhabi, adjacent to an existing power and desalination plant to the west and a marine nature preserve to the east. The hydrodynamic modelling established that the effect of the port could be substantially reduced by locating the port island further offshore, providing a 1 km-long bridge in the port access causeway to increase long-shore current flow, and a 9 km-long breakwater to protect the environmentally sensitive area from the effects of construction and port operations. These features, which increased the cost of the port by hundreds of millions of dollars, were approved by the Abu Dhabi government to ensure the marine environment is properly protected in accordance with its policy.
The new port permits the existing port, located within the capital city, to be closed and developed for tourism, recreation and residential development, improving the quality of life for the citizens of Abu Dhabi and helping to further diversify the regional economy.