Officials at Aberdeen Harbour, a port in Scotland that is projected to be the largest berthage port in the area and is the largest marine infrastructure scheme underway in the United Kingdom has confirmed that the project is on schedule. The US$473 million project began construction at the beginning of 2017 and is not reportedly 70% complete. Once complete, the port will enable berthing of vessels up to 300m in length. The South Harbour will have more than 1.3km of protective breakwater, 1,400m of deep-water quays, a water depth of up to 15m, more than 125,000m² of lay-down area and a 165m-wide entrance channel.
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The CEO of Aberdeen Harbour Board, Michelle Handforth informed the public of the benefits that can be expected with the completion of the project including “opening up a world of possibilities positioning Aberdeen as a world leader in the changing energy landscape, while radically growing Scotland’s maritime industry and international shipping potential.” Additionally, the project’s location at Nigg bay maintains close proximity to the city’s numerous vendors, the city fabricators, company headquarters and businesses, whilst simultaneously avoiding the traffic congestion associated with the city centre.
The project director, Keith Young stated that “approximately 2.4 million cubic metres of rock have been removed from the seabed using the world’s largest dredgers, and we are pleased that this material will be reused elsewhere within the project. The second half of this year has seen the arrival of three caissons for the Castlegate (north) and Dunnottar (east) Quays, and revetment work on what will be the open quay sections of the Harbour.” He added that the final eight caissons are expected to arrive from Cromarty Firth next year once winter weather conditions have receded. This will coincide with the beginning of construction of the South Breakwater and the Crown Wall an 8m-high structure that will run along the length of the North Breakwater to protect the Harbour from significant waves.
