Besix, the largest Belgian construction company operating in the Middle East, said it has completed the design and construction of the Bahrain LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Import Terminal, located offshore Muharraq Island in Bahrain.

The LNG Import Terminal forms a vital part of Bahrain's energy infrastructure as it provides the kingdom with a secure supply of liquified natural gas to meet the growth in demand for natural gas in order to fuel large industrial projects, to generate power and water, and for enhanced oil recovery, said a statement from Besix.

The scope of work included the design and construction of an LNG jetty constructed on drilled and grouted pin piles with a maximum length of 55 m, located approximately 5 km offshore and with a seabed level at -18 m, it stated.

The project also included a 600-m-long rubble mound offshore breakwater with concrete armour units.

On the achievement, Yasser Laroussi, resident manager - Bahrain at Besix, said: “Many aspects of the project have been quite challenging, such as completing the offshore works in the open sea, including the specialised equipment and offshore teams required to complete the ultra-optimised design."

“Unfortunately, we also had excessive delays due to bad weather. This, coupled with challenging logistics and the tight schedule, added additional pressure to the team, but we tackled those challenges successfully and completed all the contractual milestones on time,” added Laroussi.

Construction on the terminal began in November 2016, with the first permanent pile completed by the end of May last year, said the statement from Besix.

All permanent works were completed within a short period of 14 months and clocking a total of 3 million man-hours with zero lost time incidents. The project was handed over early this month, it added.-TradeArabia News Service