Qatar has awarded a 4.5 billion riyal ($1.24 billion) dredging contract to a joint venture of a local company and a unit of Belgian building group CFE  and holding firm Ackermans & Van Haaren, a statement said.

The contract to dredge a 20 km (13 mile) approach channel for a 27 billion riyal new port project was awarded to Middle East Dredging Co (Medco), set up by Qatar's United Development Co, state-run Qatar Holding, and Belgian dredging group DEME, the statement added.

DEME is jointly owned by CFE and Ackermans & Van Haaren.

The 27 billion riyal project, located between Al Wakrah and Mesaeed, south of Doha, will be a major gateway to Qatar and serve the future trade needs of Qatar. It will cater for the expected growth in container traffic, accommodate general cargo traffic, vehicle imports, livestock imports, bulk grain imports, offshore support vessels, cruise vessels, coastguard vessels and a marine support unit.

A new base for the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces will be built offshore of the New Port, providing berthing for Qatar's Navy and visiting naval vessels from around the world.

The new port will be developed in several phases to include three container terminals with a combined annual capacity in excess of six million containers and a railway station connected to the GCC Railway Network.

Medco will carry out dredging of a 20-km long access channel and a naval base basin; land reclamation with dredged materials of an area of approximately 4.5 sq km for the construction of the naval base, including compaction and ground improvement; the construction of rubble mound outer breakwaters each side of the channel; the construction of rock revetment at the perimeter of the naval base; the supply and installation of navigation aids and environment mitigation (re-location of coral, sea grass, mangrove that would be affected by the works).

The works include the dredging of approximately 45 million cu m of mainly hard rock materials.

Medco will deploy its self-propelled flag ship “Al Jarraf” recently constructed and delivered in Singapore. In addition, two self-propelled seagoing rock cutter suction dredgers will be deployed to execute this major assignment.

The works will start this month and will be completed early 2016.  - Reuters and TradeArabia News Service