Khalifa Port has spent more than $192 million on cranes and carriers, and is the most advanced port in the region. PMV was there for the opening.
Khalifa Port commenced operations on September 1, 0700 hours. For the assembed Port staff, contractors and dignataries the cranes performed a $192 million equipment ballet, with synchronised movements demonstrating the control of the machines.
The MSC Bari, one of the world’s largest container vessels, 366 metres in length and with
14,000 TEU capacity, was berthed alongside the gantry cranes, demonstrating their ability to handle the largest ships.
But with operations that are state of the art by global standard, rival ports in the Gulf are likely to take more than just a passing interest in the acrobatics of the equipment.
Khalifa Port is the first semi-automated port in the MENA region. The nearest semi-automated container port terminal is Singapore, some 5600km away, and ports in the region will be
watching with interest the levels of efficency achieved.
Two of the men involved in the specification and the planning of the cranes are Joost Achterkamp, project manager, Project Unit, Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), and Jan H. Grinwis, deputy project manager, Project Unit, who have been involved on the Phase 1A project from day one.
Specialists in the field of semi-automated port operations, they have worked on such projects worldwide, including in Rotterdam and Hamburg.
Achterkamp and Grinwis were responsible for evaluating the equipment tenders, specifying the equipment supplied, and then setting up and testing the operation. This included specifying the gantry cranes, built by ZPMG, the subsidiary of China Communications Communications Company (CCCC), who currently dominates the global market for gantry cranes.
Sixto-seven ADPC staff worked at a permanent office from the ZPMC production base in Shanghai monitoring the manufacturing process, to check the tolerances and quality levels achieved.
Specification of high quality components, such as gearboxes, motors, switches and drive units, raises the cost of the final crane.
A huge amount of steel is used (up to 2000 tons), also a factor in the final price, and cccess to cheaper steel is one of ZPMC’s main competitive advantages.
Six Post-Panamax Ship to Shore Container Cranes (STS) were delivered for $52 million,
each capable of lifting 110 tons, and ready for 2 x 40t single hoist twin lifts.
While the gantry cranes are the most expensive per unit, costing $8.6 million each, the largest cost was the 30 automated stacking cranes (ASCs) delivered by Konecranes at a cost of $117 million. 20 diesel/electric straddle carriers were delivered by Terex Noell, transporting containers from the STS to the ASCs.
The unmanned ASCs are the jewel of the port, moving containers automatically, with the
location of all the containers tracked.
Remote ASC operators in the control room come into play when the containers
are to be loaded on to landside trucks.
The container is lowered to the waiting truck, with the operator watching the process via cameras and sensors, and guideing the process by aid of computer. Both the STS and the straddle carriers have in-cabin operators.
In the future, the ASCs may operate completely automatically.
Economic Benefits
The Khalifa Port was officially opened on Saturday, September 1 – on time and on budget. A ceremony was held to mark the culmination of a 740-day project – part of Abu Dhabi’s largest ever infrastructure project.
Port Chairman HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, and ADPC CEO Tony Douglas were on hand for the opening.
“I am delighted to confirm that the port has been delivered within budget, on schedule and to specification,” said Douglas.
Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are set to reap economic benefits, with the port located 60km from downtown Abu Dhabi, and 85km from Dubai. The total port area is 9.1km², which includes the
2.7m² reclaimed-land offshore port island – equivalent in size to 340 football
pitches.
The port has a current annual capacity of 2.5 million TE U containers and 12 million tonnes of general cargo. Port capacity will be increased as demand grows, and there are plans
for it to be able to handle up to 15 million TE U and 35 million tonnes of general cargo
a year by 2030.
The port and the connected Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) Zone A have been built at a cost of $7.2 bn by Bechtel for ADPC.
Infrastructure at the Port and Kizad A is expected to be completed by the end of 2012, though construction at Kizad B will continue until 2030. When completed, the Kizad industrial zone will be one of the largest industral zones in the world.
One advancement for the Khalifa Port project was having the Terminal Operating System (TOS) supplied with the ASCs, with Koneranes subcontracting this out to Navis. “This was a big step forward – having an integrated ASC/TOS system supplied, rather than the Port company having responsibility for integrating the TOS with the ASCs and other port equipment,” Grinwis told PMV.
With the port now in operation, one key task is to monitor the gantry cranes, to determine
whether there are any individual components that are underperforming and need replacing.
The cranes have an initial target of 800 Mean Moves Between Failure (MMBFs), meaning that
the cranes should be able to perform 800 movements before any technical fault arises. That target then moves up to 1200 MMBFs, and then rises to 2000 MMBFs in two years.
