New 430m quay for Denmark’s largest commercial port

MT Højgaard Danmark, one of Denmark’s largest construction and civil engineering companies, has been hired to carry out the works, which are believed to cost around DKK190 million (€25.5 million).

It will be the final touch to the port’s new Omniterminal, which is leased to global shipping company MSC and its terminal operator Terminal Investment Ltd. It is being built to provide a dedicated container terminal at what is already Denmark’s largest commercial port.

Dredging the seabed to a depth of 14 metres, the installation of steel sheet piles to build the quay wall has already begun, using a jack-up barge. The port says that its design means a reduction in the use of concrete but does not compromise structural integrity.

Unusually, the quay is also being built to allow shore power facilities to be integrated as soon as possible so that the big vessels can plug in while at berth.Quay is due to be completed by the end of 2026, and with the port just announcing an increase in freight turnover of 5.3% last year and specifically container turnover  of 13% over the same period last year, expectations are up.

While Denmark’s largest container port, Aarhus is tiny compared to those in Europe. Where Aarhus has an annual TEU turnover of around 0.8 million, Rotterdam and Antwerp handle around 13.5 million TEU each, and Hamburg, in third place, handles up to 7.8 million.