“New Harbour” in Doha/Qatar - Putzmeister Holding GmbH

Title story
Title story
Ready Mix) Khalid Ali talked about the
large project. Together with subcontractor
China Harbour Company, FBA is responsible
for supplying and pouring four
million cubic metres of concrete on site.
“The government wants to make this
project one of the largest in the Gulf”,
explains Khalid Ali.
“The first phase of the project started
in 2011 and completion is scheduled for
2016. The harbour will cost somewhere
in the region of 25.6 billion riyal (7 billion
US dollars) and cover a surface area
of around 25 km 2 by the end of the first
phase.”
He adds “Since January, China Harbour
has managed to excavate about half a
million of the four million cubic metres
of concrete required for the project.”
“The large quantities of earth dug from
the site will be used at another location”,
explains Ali. “That alone is a huge
undertaking. China Harbour has almost
300 machines in operation.”
A wall made of finished concrete parts
will be built for the new harbour and the
area behind the wall will be further excavated
and then backfilled. A concrete
p Don Matthews, Khalid Ali, Khodor Ali Taki, Louis Franssen (from left to right)
q The huge giant concrete blocks wait side by side: a total of 35,000 blocks will be
needed to build the new quay wall.
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wall for a pier will also be constructed
while a breakwater will protect the ships
in the harbour. The actual harbour will
consist of a range of navigational structures
and business premises.
The project manager explains that the
most notable contribution of the FBA
in the project is the three years it will
take to pour three million cubic metres
of prefabricated blocks, which will then
be used for various purposes.
FBA is currently working on the quay
wall, which will require approx. 1.8 million
cubic metres of concrete alone.
“It really is a huge project. Qatar has large
reserves of capital and projects of this
kind are a real statement of intent.”
In spite of the significant delays often
experienced in Qatar, the company can
already see a change in material prices.
“Last year the price for finished concrete
was 380 riyal per cubic metre – the price
has now decreased by 80 riyal”, explains
Khalid Ali.
To the new harbour
Later on, the team from CMME travelled
q The quick delivery rate of the Telebelt
to the coast with Louis Franssen and
(up to 275 m 3 /h) is just right for the
Khodor Ali Taki, After Sales & Services
large volumes of concrete required for
Manager from Putzmeister Middle East
this project.
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and the “Telebelt guru” from Putzmeister
America, Don Matthews, to have a
closer look at the project in person.
China Harbour is very careful about
security. Beyond the gates, a long road
winds all the way up to the enormous
concreting site. Hills and embankments
deposited by dozens of large diggers
block the view of the sea to the west.
The Chinese company has everything
under control and is worth every penny
of the 3.2 billion riyal covered outlined in
the contract. The project includes work
to excavate the dockyard to a depth of 17
m and build the wharf. Other operations
in progress include canal digging work,
the construction of a 2.7 km long breakwater
and the removal of 3 million cubic
metres of rock and sand.
The size of the site and machinery is
breathtaking. The cranes that set the solid
concrete blocks are colossal and the
inland area where the blocks are cast in
formwork is vast.
The large concrete mixing plant consisting
of two Sany 180 Eco mixing units
is situated about one kilometre away.
The Sany unit beat off fierce competition
from the UAE and China to secure the
harbour contract and will also supply
concrete for the construction of the Doha
stadium from 2014 onwards.
Masses of concrete blocks
The 2 m high blocks are arranged tidily
in identical rows. Each block has a
“nub” on the top and a corresponding
recess on the underside so that the wall
can be constructed like a large Lego
structure. The voids are then filled with
soil. Gantry cranes “patrol” above the
rows of blocks and will spend a month
loading the hardened finished products
onto large trucks so they can be transported
quickly to the right location.
It all sounds relatively simple but production
operates at the highest level and
maximum speed. FBA manufactures
the actual blocks into individual shapes
using the Telebelt from Putzmeister (a
total of four TBS 130 machines), the first
time the machine has operated in Qatar.
Built in the USA and Germany, the ma-
Fahad Bin Abdulla
Ready Mix Concrete & Block Factory
Founded more than 30 years ago in
Doha, Qatar, the “Fahad Bin Abdulla
Group of Companies“ has become active
in many fields around the Arabian
Gulf: from the real estate business and
high-performance mixing equipment
for making ready-mix concrete across
the whole of Qatar to commercial activities
in the wood, aluminium, hollow
finished part, transport, carpentry and
construction sectors.
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