Abu Dhabi Ports to double cruise visitor capacity with new jetty
Abu Dhabi Ports announced that BAM International has been selected to design and construct the new cruise jetty at Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach. The jetty is to accommodate a double number of port calls by cruise ships.
Embarkment on island
The expansion will allow two vessels to dock at any given time and provide up to 5,000 passengers with direct access to embark and disembark on the southeast beach of Sir Bani Yas island.
The island is the largest natural island off the coast of Abu Dhabi and accommodates cruise passengers on its beaches since 2016. Cruise ships set anchor about one kilometre offshore from the island and visitors are ferried to and from the Cruise Beach via tender craft.
The 24,5 million euro (AED 100 million) new jetty project will be completed in the last quarter of 2020, in time for the start of the 2021 cruise season.
Open-access trestle
The cruise jetty comprises an open-access trestle of 350 metres long and 6 metres wide. This frame extends to a 105 metres long piled berth platform, together with eight mooring dolphins, firefighting equipment, and solar lighting.
The platform will be constructed with an option to be extended with ten beach-control groynes.
Ongoing development
Noura Rashed Al Dhaheri, Cruise Terminal Director at Abu Dhabi Ports, commented on the ongoing development to facilitate cruise visitors to move quicker from the ship to the beach. ‘Today’s announcement heralds an exciting new phase in the spectacular success of Abu Dhabi’s cruise business at Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach’, the port director said.
First with Abu Dhabi Ports
Eric van Zuthem, Chairman of the Board of BAM International, said: ‘The awarding of this contract to BAM International is testament to our unparalleled performance in delivering the highest quality marine construction. The new cruise jetty is our first project with Abu Dhabi Ports, and we look forward to commencing a long and successful relationship between our organisations.'
