Royal HaskoningDHV and Hyundai assist Saudi Arabia with marine yard

For the development of one of the world’s largest maritime yards, in Saudi Arabia, Royal HaskoningDHV and Hyundai have been selected to provide Front-End Engineering Design for the yard’s infrastructure. The design is set to be completed within the coming five months.

The fall in crude oil prices has, among others, seen Saudi Arabia’s former state budget surplus sink into the red. To modernise its economy, and diversify its income streams, the Kingdom is undergoing a number of efforts under its wider ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ strategy, which has been an indirect boon for the consultancy industry.

One of the consultancy firms active in the development of the country’s logistics propositions is Royal HaskoningDHV. The engineering and consulting firm has recently been engaged by the Saudi Trade and Export Development Company to develop a 634,000 square-meter port logistics zone, the so-called Tusdeer Khumra Logistics Park.

The latest announcement sees the firm again tapped to provide services within the logistics space in the Kingdom. The firm, in a consortium with Hyundai Engineering & Construction, will provide Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the infrastructure of the new maritime yard in Ras Al-Khair.

The new facility, which is located north of Jubail on the Arabian Gulf, will provide construction and maintenance for, among others, large shipbuilding, large ship repair, offshore rigs fabrication, and offshore support vessel repair. The new yard becomes the largest of its type in the world, across its range of services, with infrastructure including seven fully equipped dry docks, two basins and five piers, a ship-lift system, workshops, warehouses, utility services areas, as well as office buildings, living quarters, and recreational facilities for more than 10,000 workers.

As part of its services, Royal HaskoningDHV will provide its specialised shipyard consultancy experience, while Hyundai will provide experience in engineering, procurement and construction to the project development of the new yard. Royal HaskoningDHV has been active on the project since 2014, when the firm was hired to deliver a market study for the new yard. The current FEED project is projected to last five months.

Adrian Arnold, Project Director at Royal HaskoningDHV, says, “Maritime yards must be globally competitive with facilities which are cost-effective, operationally flexible, and durable. This project combines four different yards into a single development, creating significant opportunities for economies of scale and enhancing the country’s economic development.”