The Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah yesterday said the dry dock under construction in Ras Laffan was on track for start up in 2010.
"Construction there is on time. We are proud to see that we are building one of the best dry docks in the world," Al Attiyah told reporters here yesterday.
He said at pick it is expected that some 15,000 people will be working at one time on the huge infrastructure's facilities, which he added will be providing the best services, because "this dry-dock is not only for ourselves but for the world shipping industry," he said.
Al Attiyah also pointed out that the facility would generate enormous business opportunities for the country in the coming years. "We will see ships from around the world coming to use our dry dock facilities," he said.
The dry-dock is expected to be used by 5000 ships a year by 2012, making Ras Laffan the world's largest hydrocarbon port. The large ship repair and dry-dock facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art ship servicing equipment and other supporting facilities similar to those available at other world-class dry-docking centres.
The Ras Laffan ship repair and maintenance yard will be among the largest in the world and have an annual capacity to handle about 200 vessels. The new facility has been designed and is being constructed in accordance with best international practice, and suitable for the repair and maintenance of very large LNG carriers and a wide range of other vessels and facilities.
The large ship repair and dry-dock facility is the latest addition to Ras Laffan Port, an ultra-modem purpose-built facility and one of the top exporting ports in the Middle East and Asia regions.
The Port commenced operations in September 1996. Since then its berth facilities have been increased significantly to cater to new and expanding industries.
The Port presently covers an area of 56 sq km and serves a fast-expanding hinterland of the Ras Laffan Industrial City. It is the only gateway for Qatar's principal export earner - LNG produced from the North Field.
With four (4) operational LNG berths, the Port is already the world's premier LNG exporting facility. On March 22 this year, the Port made history as all of its four LNG berths were occupied simultaneously.
Besides the LNG facilities, Ras Laffan Port also has a number of other berths to export liquids such as condensate, LPG and GTL products. The dry cargo berths handle sulphur, bulk materials and project cargoes
© The Peninsula 2009
