Jan De Nul Group has also confirmed that it has secured a major contract for the construction of an export terminal for LNG in Soyo, Angola. The contract involves creating new land at sea as well as dredging an access channel and will be carried out in a joint venture with Boskalis. Jan de Nul confirmed that the contract is worth approximately €300 million in which Jan De Nul Group has a 50% share. The work will be completed by the end of 2008. Two heavy cutter suction dredgers will be used to dredge 26 million m³ of material to construct the access channel.

About 5 million m³ of the dredged material will be used to create 140 hectares of new land on which the LNG terminal will be built. In addition, two medium sized trailing suction hopper dredgers will be used to reclaim two million m3 of sand for the new land.

More recently, Jan de Nul Group has also confirmed that Nakheel in Dubai has awarded it a $115m contract for the New Island Development project. The project consists of constructing a new island 50km offshore in waters 20m deep. The island will have the shape of a crescent and its primary function is to provide shelter for recreational vessels. Approximately 29m m³ of material will have to be dredged and reclaimed by means of the trailing suction hopper dredgers Juan Sebastian de Elcano, Gerardus Mercator, and the cutter suction dredger JFJ De Nul.

Approximately 3m m³ of rock will be installed by means of the side stone dumping vessel Pompeï and the positioning pontoon DN121, during construction of an underwater revetment berm. The project started in December 2006 and will last 27 months.

By DAVID FOXWELL