The King Abdullah Port No 4 Dry Dock in Saudi Arabia, built by POWERCHINA.
On April 14, local time, POWERCHINA handed over the King Abdullah Port No 4 Dry Dock in Saudi Arabia.
This marks a key milestone for the shipyard project, as the dry dock serves as the central hub for assembling, launching, and repairing various types of vessels.
The No 4 Dry Dock, measuring 550 meters in length, 75 meters in width, and 13.8 meters in depth, required the pouring of 126,000 cubic meters of concrete. It is the largest dry dock in the Middle East and ranks among the largest globally.
The dock is capable of accommodating the construction of a 90,000-ton VLCC supertanker, and its expansive length allows for the simultaneous construction of two ships.
To ensure high-quality and efficient construction, the project team employed several advanced technologies. Key innovations included the use of trench cutters to construct underground continuous diaphragm walls around the dock's foundation and the implementation of a Doka formwork system, which enables an 8.65-meter single-pour wall section.
The project team also adopted cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing measures such as optimizing the design of concrete keel blocks, utilizing monolithic platform concrete construction, and prefabricating and installing stairs and floors. These efforts resulted in cost savings of over $15 million.
The successful completion and handover of the No 4 Dry Dock underscore POWERCHINA's exceptional organizational management, technical expertise, and meticulous attention to detail. The project has earned high recognition and trust from the owner, Saudi Aramco, and the operator, International Maritime Industries (IMI).
The project team will continue to focus on completing the remaining work, ensuring the high-quality and efficient execution of all tasks.
