Green port at Hull
A contract has been placed for the development of a waterfront site in the Port of Hull, UK, dedicated to the construction of wind farm modules. Associated British Ports who operate the Port of Hull placed the contract, valued at £100 million, to construction and engineering firm Lagan Construction Group and management and investment group Graham.
This joint venture which is known as Graham Lagan Construction Group JV is part of a major development that will set up a production site for offshore wind farm components for the German company Siemens.
The initial construction programme will include the infilling of one third of the Alexandra Dock as the landward base of the new site. Out in the river the work will also include reclaiming 7.5 ha of the adjacent river which will be enclosed by a sea wall forming a 650 metre long quay wall. This will provide berthing for three offshore wind farm installation vessels at any one time, allowing them to load rotor blades, pylons and bases and other equipment directly from the manufacturing plant.
Included in the new construction work will be the construction of a new roll on/roll/off ramp as well as the demolition of some existing buildings and the dredging of a new berth pocket. On the landward side of the development there will be earthworks and surfacing and the building of new internal access roads and service networks. Around 780,000 sq.metres of material will be used for the infilling of the Alexandra dock
The Graham Lagan Construction Group will be responsible for preparing the site for Siemens which can then begin the construction of its own facilities which are scheduled to be come operational by the summer of 2017. The complete re-constructed site will be known as Green Port Hull.
The entire Siemens part of the development will be spread across two sites, one of which will be the Green Port Hull area and the other a new rotor blade manufacturing facility at nearby Paull. Siemens is investing £160 million in the development of these two sites whilst APB will be investing a further £150 million in the Green Port Hull development. It is anticipated that this new development will create over 10,000 jobs and the new facility is designed to produce the components required for the Group 3 wind farm developments in the North Sea.
This new development will replace the King George Dock area of the port which is largely derelict and the existing entrance to the Alexandra Dock will remain. On the landward side the new facility will extend over an area currently largely used for storage.
Further information: www.greenporthull.co.uk
By Dag Pike
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