Abu Dhabi Ports Doubling Visitor Capacity With AED 100 Million Expansion

Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator and manager of the emirate’s commercial and community ports, announced plans to design and construct a new cruise jetty at Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach – the signature tourist destination located off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

The AED 100 million (€24.5 million) new jetty project will be completed in Q4 2020, in time for the launch of the 2021 cruise season.

The expansion will allow two vessels to dock at any given time and provide up to 5,000 passengers with direct access to embark and disembark at an accelerated rate on the southeast beach of Sir Bani Yas Island.

Image Credits: adports.ae

Presently, cruise ships set anchor about one kilometre offshore from the island and visitors are ferried to and from the Cruise Beach via tender craft.

BAM International, the operating name for the Dutch construction company Royal BAM Group, outside of Europe, was selected to design and construct the new jetty. The cruise jetty comprises an open-access trestle (350 metres length x 6 metres width) extending to a piled berth platform (105 metres length x 15 metres width), together with eight mooring dolphins, firefighting equipment, solar lighting, as well as a hand railing, with an option to construct ten beach-control structures (groynes).

Noura Rashed Al Dhaheri, Cruise Terminal Director at Abu Dhabi Ports, said: “Today’s announcement heralds an exciting new phase in the spectacular success of Abu Dhabi’s cruise business at Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach. Our commitment to its ongoing development will help us significantly increase the total number of visitors to the island, and reduce the time it takes to move them to and from a vessel.

Eric van Zuthem, Chairman of the Board of BAM International, said: “The awarding of this contract to BAM International is testament to our unparalleled performance in delivering the highest quality marine construction. The new cruise jetty at Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach is our first project with Abu Dhabi Ports, and we look forward to commencing a long and successful relationship between our organisations.

“From Australia to Curaçao, we have used our expertise to design and construct cruise jetties all over the world. Since the 1970s, we have maintained a strong presence in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf, so we can easily deploy our own fleet of marine equipment, including robust jack-up barges, to facilitate heavy-duty activities in demanding near-shore situations. We look forward to bringing our knowledge to the benefit of our client.”

Located in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Region, Sir Bani Yas Island is the Arabian Gulf’s first and only dedicated cruise beach stopover destination and is the gateway to some of the most spectacular wildlife and historical treasures in the region.

Reference: adports.ae

Source: Maritime Shipping News