Belgium’s Jan de Nul has emerged as the frontrunner for the contract to deepen the access channel serving Hamad Port in Qatar.

The scope of the contract entails deepening the access channel from 16 metres to 18 metres so that it is the same depth as the port basin.

MEED understands the contract is expected to be awarded before the end of 2017.

Other contractors that submitted a bid for the contract in December last year are understood to include:

• China Harbour Engineering Company(China)
• Middle East Dredging Company (Medco) (local / Belgium)
• Royal Boskalis Westminster(Netherlands)
• Van Oord(Netherlands)
• Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company(US)

The dredging work is part of the plans to expand Hamad Port. These include the addition of a second and third container terminal, which will increase annual handling capacity to 6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2020, up from the 2 million TEUs capacity the facility has when it opened in December last year.

In October, Qatar’s New Port Project (NPP) Steering Committee officially awarded Australia’s Worley Parsons with a QR50m ($14m) contract for the masterplan and design of the second phase of Qatar’s Hamad Port.

The scope of the contract’s planning services includes:

• facilities capacity analysis
• market analysis and forecasts
• conceptual plan
• traffic modelling
• plan implementation

The scope of the design services include detailed design of automated second container terminal and support during the tender, evaluation and construction of the terminal.

In July, the NPP Steering Committee awarded local Al-Jaber Engineering (JEC) a QR1.6bn ($438m) contract for the design and construction of food facilities at Hamad Port.