New Container Terminal Damietta, Egypt

Client: KGL PI, Kuwait Construction Costs: ca. 650 Mio. USD Services: Master Plan, Preliminary Design, Tender Design and Tender Documents, Tender Evaluation Support Period: 2006 - 2007 Cooperation: HPC Hamburg Port Consulting

At the Egyptian Mediterranean port Damietta (about 70 km west of the Suez-Canal) a large container terminal is being developed. The port is designed for an annual handling capacity of approximately 4 Million TEU (Twenty-Feet Equivalent Unit).

The consultancy association of Hamburg Port Consulting (HPC) and Sellhorn Ingenieurgesellschaft executed the overall planning, which included:

• preparation of a Master Plan
• design Planning and preparation of Tender Documents
• design and Tender of all infrastructure and equipment of the some 80 ha comprising terminal area (inclusive Buildings).
• specification, Tender, Award of Contract and Construction Supervision of the equipment (STS, RTG, TT)
• nautical simulation study for approach and berthing manoeuvre
• design and Tender of extensive dredging works for approach channel, turning circle and the actual new harbour basin.

A notable challenge was the quay wall design because of soil conditions. The upper stratum is made of 15 to 20 m silt or silty sand, followed by a 15 to 17 m layer of very soft clay. Only than at about 30 m below existing ground level, load bearing Sands are existent.

A diaphragm wall construction type proved to be value at comparable soil conditions within the Egyptian region.

The quay wall construction was put out to tender as shown on the sketch below, consisting of:

• two diaphragm walls at the water side, each 1.5 m wide, which are connected through a rigid capping
• landside diaphragm wall, which acts partly as anchor wall and bears the landside crane beam
• micro piles for horizontal load transfer into the ground

The micro piles need to be anchored into the lower, load bearing sands to assure sufficient safety during potential earthquake conditions.

Design and tender preparation took place over a period of less than one year; start of construction was in the middle of April 2007 and first full size container vessels are due to be handled in autumn 2008.