Project Name:
NEW SUEZ CANAL

Overview

The giant project involved the creation of a new Suez Canal parallel to the current channel of a total length of 34 kilometers, led by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA). Approximately 460million cubic meters of material were excavated and dredged to create the new channel, of which 220 million cubic metres were executed through dredging. 

The channels was dredged till -24.0m CD equal to -6.20m SCD in all sections except for some sections in lot 6 (-23.0 or -23.5m CD). All dredged material were placed in the assigned Dumping Basins and Areas situated next to the channel along the length.


Scope

NMDC (as the lead) formed a consortium with Dutch Companies Boskalis, Van Oord and Belgian Company Jan de Nul to carry out and complete the dredging scope of lots 2,3,4 & 5 with total dredging volume of almost 180 million cubic metres as per schedule shown in the upcoming sections where each company will dredge similar quantities.


Challenges

The Suez Canal has grown since its construction back in 1869. With new ships increasing in dimensions, the Egyptian Government is in deep need to upgrade the Suez Canal in order to accommodate the growing traffic and ship sizes. 

The strategic importance of the project prompted the client to reduce the initial project duration from 36 months to 12 months. 
The decision opened up a new set of challenges for the consortium in all aspects of the project from the mobilisation phase to the increase of dredging rate to reach a peak of 1.0 million cubic metres per day making it the highest project in the last three decades in terms of dredging production.


Project Details

Client Suez Canal Authority
Location Suez canal , Egypt
Period 2014 – 2015
Contract Prime Contractor