After many years of involvement in the UAE, Royal Haskoning has strengthened its position in Abu Dhabi.Khalifa Port Industrial Zone Development is one of the great projects Royal Haskoning is handling. The Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) contracted Khalifa Port Marine Consortium (KPMC) to design and build the marine structures and to undertake dredging and reclamation for the initial phase (Stage 1A) of the new port facilities at the Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ).Development of Industrial Port in Abu Dhabi >> 16rangeinternational

'Royal Haskoning was invited by the Design and Build consortium to provide the Independent Check of the Marine Facilities Design of the Port. The scope of work included numerical and physical modelling for the confirmation of the port layout, the detailed design of quay walls, bridges, causeways, breakwaters, revetments, the dredging of approach channel and basin and the reclamation of the port island up to the formation level', Project Manager and Civil Engineer, Marco de Groote explains.The project involved approximately 4,600m of quaywalls which were proposed to be blockwork type by the main designer. 'One of the key challenges for the quaywall design was to meet the necessary bearing capacity and settlement requirements in the presence of weak rock bearing strata under the foundations of the deep blockwork walls. Another challenge for the quaywall was the seismic forces imposed on the quay where Royal Haskoning relied on its in-house seismic experts to ensure the design was carried out in accordance to the design requirements as specified by the Client - ADPC", Marco adds.The project also includes three bridges - a Highway bridge, a Utility bridge and a Trestle bridge. The Highway bridge has a length of approximately 1,000m and a width of 28.9m and accommodates 2 x 3 traffic lanes and a footpath on either side. The utility bridge runs parallel to the road bridge and has similar length of 1,000m and a width of 27.5m wide. The bridge structure is similar to that of the Highway bridge. The Trestle bridge has a length of 1,800m and is 11m wide. The bridge will also be realised using pre-fabricated pre-stressed concrete girders. 'Another challenge of this project was the location of the port in a sensitive marine environment, Marco added, 'we need to protect the most significant and diverse coral community in the Gulf, due therefore, we have built the port approximately 4.6km offshore, and significant modelling work was carried out to ensure that effects such as increase in water temperature and sedimentation were not to have a negative impact on the marine environment.''Royal Haskoning commissioned Deltares (The Netherlands) and CSIR (South Africa) to do the testing of the breakwater and revetment design. Also, the review of contractors' Boskalis, Hyundai and Archirodon's Method Statements for the majority of the construction works of the project, materials submission of Contractor, review of design changes during construction and the review of the results of reclamation field trials were under the scope of Royal Haskoning', he concludes.Marco de Grootem.degroote@haskoning.ae+971 50 307 0352""A key challenge of this project was the location of the port in a sensitive marine environment, therefore, the port was built approximately 4.6km offshore, and significant modelling work was carried out to ensure that effects such as increase in water temperature and sedimentation would not have a negative impact on the marine environment.Marco de Groote, Project Manager and Civil Engineer - Royal HaskoningImages: Khalifa Port Industrial Zone Developmentrangeinternational >> 17