The Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) is preparing to tender the third and final construction package for the Aqaba new port project in Jordan.

The contract covers the construction of onshore facilities, including infrastructure, yards, buildings and sheds.

Local contractors were invited to submit expressions of interest for the contract in the second half of last year and the tender is expected to be released within the next month once concept designs have been finalised.

The Aqaba new port project comprises three new terminals including a general cargo and roll-on-roll-off (ro-ro) terminal, a grain terminal and a new ferry terminal.

The first package for the project to be tendered covered the marine works at the port. This JD65m ($91.6m) contract was won by a joint-venture (JV) of Netherlands-based Bam International and the local MAG Contracting & Engineering at the beginning of last year.

The grain terminal package contract was awarded to a JV between UAE firm Pertech and the local firm Omar Abu Sa’ad at the end of last year.

The tendering of the onshore facilities contract follows news that the end of March that the a JV between the Netherlands-based company Arcadis and Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah won the contract to provide construction management services and design reviews for the port project.

The JV is charged with managing the integration of the four different contracts and reviewing all the design documents from the all contractors.

The New Port of Aqaba is a major priority for the Jordan government as it will be the main maritime gateway for the Aqaba special economic zone. The port is expected to be operational in 2014.

Once complete, the general cargo terminal will have a capacity of 2 million tonnes per year. The grain silos and ro-ro berths will have a capacity of 3 million tonnes a year.

The ADC is also overseeing the construction of a new liquefied natural gas terminal within the economic zone. Prequalified contractors have until 26 April to submit bids.