Port & Drydock Facility
Duqm port is to be established to serve domestic trade, tourism and the fishing industry. Phase I provides for the harbour basin to be dredged to a depth of 10 metres and for the construction of 450 metres of jetties and a dry dock for ship repairs and maintenance. The port will be able to receive ships of up to 100,000 tonnes. Covering an area of 1.163 million square metres, the facility will comprise two dry docks as well as a floating dock equipped to repair and maintain oil and gas tankers of 100,000-tonne capacity. The port will have a total length of 2,800m for mooring and berthing of 8-10 vessels. It will simultaneously have berthing facilities for up to 16 vessels of small and medium size.
The complex will have two dry docks to repair VLCC/LNG carriers, six different length size quays for berthing and mooring of up to 16 vessels simultaneously, heavy zones for carrying heavy materials with 150-tonne mobile crane and heavy structure handling up to 10,000 MT, unloading & stocking material for unloading and stocking of major material, steel plates, copper slag (Nix), Hull processing shop, a work shop with newest processing and machining equipment, electric motor shop for repairing LNG carrier, other utilities like oxygen, acetylene, CO2 and compressed air plant, and a power distribution centre for nine sub stations. As part of environment friendly measures, there will be chemical oil treatment plant, Nix recycling plant, sewage treatment plant, incinerator plant and fresh water pump station. The welfare facilities include worker's dormitory, guest house, sports centre, restaurant and playground. Dry dock and the commercial port are expected to be operational by 2010.
An agreement worth RO2.15 million was signed on June 26, 2005, between the Government of Oman and South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Maritime Engineering Company for provision of consultancy services and preparation of engineering designs leading to the construction of the dry dock facility.
Having the reputation of being the world's second largest shipbuilder, Daewoo has been awarded the contract for the design of two dry dock facilities and a floating dock facility, in addition to providing consultancy services for machinery. In late September, Oman awarded the contract to oversee the construction of the facility to Daewoo in a separate agreement. As part of the agreement, Daewoo will also manage and operate the repair docks for a 10-year period after its completion, on behalf of a newly formed state enterprise, the Oman Dry Dock Company. At the time the contract was signed, Ahmed bin Abdul Nabi Macki, Oman's minister of finance and national economy, said the dry dock facility was one of the major strategic initiatives being undertaken by the government to develop new sources of revenue and employment for the country and diversify the economy. While the initial focus of the yard is repair and maintenance work, shipbuilding has not been ruled out.
In April 2007, an Omani-Turkish consortium was awarded a contract to develop the marine infrastructure for the new Duqm port complex at a cost of RO186.892 million. Consolidated Contractors Company (Oman) and Sezai Turkes - Feyzi Akkaya Ltd (STFA) of Turkey will execute the project in joint venture with Belgian-based international dredging giant Jan De Nul Dredging Ltd. The contract covers the first phase development of the Duqm port. This phase, comprising the maritime works package, covers the construction of breakwaters and quay walls, dredging and reclamation works and two breakwaters of a length of around 5 kilometres. A pair of quays will also be constructed a 700-metre-long quay for container, general cargo and dry bulk vessels, and a 330-metre quay for government vessels. Berths for tug and pilot boats and other craft will be built as well.
In addition, dredging will be carried out to provide for the entrance channel, harbour basin, construction pockets and turning circle, with deeper dredged pockets created at the berths and floating docks. The harbour basin will be dredged to a depth of -16 metres and the approach channel to -17 metres. Also, as part of the maritime works package, reclamation will be undertaken behind the breakwaters, quay walls and inshore areas. Allowance must also be made within the commercial quay for the potential future installation of electrically operated rail-mounted quayside cranes.
In the second phase of the Duqm project, landside and infrastructure facilities will be established under a separate contract, while a major ship repair facility will be constructed in the third phase. Construction of the ship repair yard and dry-dock will run concurrently with the Phase 1 development of the marine infrastructure.
"The port of Duqm is being designed to serve a new industrial hub that is being developed in the region, part of the government's drive to increase investment and employment opportunities across the country and spread the base of the economy away from the traditional centre around Muscat. One proposal currently being considered is a refining and petrochemical complex, with Oman Polypropylene having already completed a feasibility study for the project. There are already other repair yards in the region, notably those in Dubai and Bahrain. However, apart from being the most modern, the Duqm facility will also offer the advantage of being just outside the Gulf, meaning ship owners will not have to pay the substantial fees to enter those busy waters. Duqm will also be positioned to attract the wider Indian Ocean trade, an important consideration as shipping in the region increases," says the report of Oxford Business Group.
When operational around 2010, the Duqm dry dock will rival among the biggest in the region. It will provide direct employment to around 1,500 people on operation, and the workforce is projected to rise to 3,000 by 2018 if a proposed shipbuilding yard is added to the complex. Thousands of indirect jobs would also be created. Total investment in the ship repair yard is estimated at RO250 million.
According to government officials, the main advantages of having a port a Duqm - from a ship owner's point of view - while compared to other ports in the vicinity is that Dubai and ASRY need about three days after-repair work in order to charge inert gas into cargo tanks and test the repaired parts. While Dubai is 12 hours away from loading port, ASRY is a four-hour drive. Moreover, the ship owners have to spend 2.5 days of idle time in case their vessels are repaired in Dubai and ASRY. Singapore too has similar demerit in case of vessels discharged at Thailand. Duqm is, in that way, located at a better position. "Most importantly, Duqm will not have the problem of demand considering the maximum capacity of regional competitors. The amount of excess demand in the Middle East region in 2007 is estimated at 154 vessels," says an official.
See
Duqm.. A Breathtaking Development.. (Part 4)
