The dry docks, both weighing around 3,000 tonnes, will be installed at the entrance of two graving docks that are at the heart of the ship repair yard currently under built as part of the Duqm Port and Dry Dock complex
MUSCAT -- Two engineering firms are vying for a contract to build a pair of massive dock gates for a major ship repair yard currently under development at Duqm on the Wusta coast. INCO International FZCO, a Dubai-based industrial contractor which also operates a major fabrication facility at Sohar, along with Top Great Engineering and Marine Pte Ltd of Singapore, are the only two firms to have submitted firm offers for the contract. Bids were opened by the Tender Board on Monday.
Four other firms that had originally collected bid documents, namely United Industrial Services Co, L&T Modular Fabrication Yard, Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard and Al Bawardy Marine Engineering, did not participate. The dry docks, both weighing around 3,000 tonnes, will be installed at the entrance of two graving docks that are at the heart of the ship repair yard currently under built as part of the Duqm Port and Dry Dock complex. Development of the dry dock -- billed as second largest of its kind in the world -- is being overseen by the state-owned Oman Dry-Dock Company, with South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co Ltd (DSME) as its strategic partner.
The massive steel-fabricated structures are due to be installed immediately upon the completion of construction of the graving docks, slated for late 2010. The graving docks themselves are among the biggest of their kind in the world and designed to handle some of the biggest ships in operation today.
The overall length of the first set of dock gates is an enormous 96.6 metres and boasts a height of 14.05 metres. The second set is slightly smaller at 81.6 metres, but features the same height. Both sets of gates are eight metres thick. Construction of the port and dry dock complex is continuing to make headway. A consortium of Omani, Turkish and Belgian firms is undertaking the dredging work as part of the Phase 1 development of the marine infrastructure of the port project. The RO 187 million marine works package covers the construction of breakwaters and quay walls, as well as dredging and reclamation works.
Separately, a joint venture of South Korea's Daewoo Engineering and Contracting and Oman's Galfar Engineering and Contracting is constructing the graving docks as part of a contract valued at RO 170 million. Oman Dry-Dock Company has also floated tenders for several long-lead items, which form part of the superstructure of the ship repair yard. A total of 10 groups of items will be tendered out during the course of this year, particularly for cranes, heavy lifting and transport systems, air compressor plants, ship cranes, and IT systems.
When operational in the year 2010, the ship repair yard will be large enough to accommodate the largest vessels in operation today. The facility will have a capacity to repair over 200 ships per year, including vessels as large as Ultra-Large Crude Carriers (ULCCs). A full-fledged shipbuilding yard is also envisioned as part of the long-term development of Duqm Port.
By Conrad Prabhu
© Oman Daily Observer 2008
