Six Construct is the main civil works subcontractor to construct two dual berth jetties and a 1 km quay wall at the port of Duqm, Oman. The project is built in consortium with Royal Boskalis Westminster and allows Duqm Port to receive and handle giant container vessels.
The roles in the Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) contract were nicely divided. While RBW carried out the rock cladding, dredging and raising works, Six Construct was responsible for the detailed design of the maritime structures. It equally took care of building a 1 km long quay wall and two twin-berth jetties with associated facilities and navigation equipment.
Smooth communication and efficiently coordinating activities ensured the project was delivered in record time.
The BESIX Engineering team proposed a solution to build 'in the dry'. This made a real difference: we could both limit construction and improve the quality of the permanent structures. With everything visible to the naked eye, precise working was crucial. All in the interest of our client.
Project Manager at Six Construct
One of the biggest challenges was the remote location. The site was situated 500 km from the closest urban area, the Omani capital of Muscat. This impacts every aspect of the project, not in the least the procurement of materials and equipment.
The Six Construct-RBW consortium tackled this with an extremely detailed and perfectly coordinated planning, right from the start. The entire project was first executed on paper and computer before being actually built. This allowed the team to leave virtually nothing to chance and this contributed largely to the project's overall success.
Maritime facilities like these are usually built from a platform in the water. In the case of Duqm, the BESIX engineering team proposed a different method: building 'in the dry'.
This involved sealing off the construction site from the sea by building a sand dam – a retaining wall of reclaimed sand – and by pumping the site dry. Some 26 million m³ of material was dredged from the seabed by RBW. This allowed the team to work on a platform 20 m below sea level, which would later form the permanent seabed. Six Construct built the quay and berths using specially designed temporary structures.
After the works, the port was re-flooded again, with sea levels rising up to two metres a day over the course of two weeks.
Project name
Duqm Liquid Bulk Berths
Area(s) of expertise
Quay Walls, Jetties
Contract type
Design & Build
Location
Duqm, Oman
Stakeholder(s)
Six Construct
External partner(s)
Royal-Boskalis-Westminster
Client
Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm (SEZAD)
Building Period
2017 - 2019
Total value
$ 515 million