HARBOURS & COASTS
NEW INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL PORT AT DORALEH - DJIBOUTI

Client: Djibouti Port Authority and Dubai Ports International

Services: General Master Plan of the new Doraleh Port and Industrial Zone; Preliminary Design and Feasibility Study of the new Refined Products Receiving Terminal and of the Deep Water Container Terminal.

Period: 2000-2002

Construction cost:      € 200 million

The project:

During the last decade Djibouti became the major import/export port of Ethiopia and since the outbreak of the recent war with Eritrea, Djibouti is practically its only gateway. Even when Massawa and Assab ports re-open to Ethiopian traffic, the Djibouti will remain the preferred port owing to its greater proximity and to the rail and road connections that are being refurbished.

The oil traffic has increased enormously in recent years, going from a maximum 350,000 tons/year in 1992 to over 1,250,000 tons/year in 2000. Although the port infrastructures can cope with this traffic, the location of the terminal and the storage areas is an increasing environmental and safety hazard. The present port is surrounded by housing and almost all the oil products are transported to Ethiopia by truck, passing through the streets of Djibouti before they join the MD1 motorway, or railway. The relocation of the Oil Terminal to a new site outside the towns, and clean-up and restoration of the entire area occupied today by the oil facilities, is therefore urgently required.

The Container Terminal has two berths offering approx. 10 meters of water and associated container stacking areas. In the last decade there has been a considerable increase in the commercial traffic, especially containers, which in 1999 exceeded 2.5 million tons (14% increase over 1998 and 100% increase over 1989 volumes). Again, while the existing infrastructures are capable of dealing with the present demand, in view of the traffic growth trend and the development of transhipment operations due to a new management system, introduced by Dubai Port International (DPI), both the quayside facilities and the storage areas will be inadequate.

In view of all these considerations the Government of Djibouti decided to study the possibility of developing a new port/industrial area at Doraleh, to provide the following main facilities:

• a new Refined Products Receiving Terminal

• a deep water Container Terminal,

• a future Petroleum Refinery,

• a Commercial and Industrial Free Zone,

• efficient road and rail connections.

In particular, the services to be provided are:

1st Phase:

• Bathymetric, topographic, geotechnical and meteo-marine studies and surveys,  General Master Plan of the Doraleh New Port Infrastructure;

• Preliminary Design of the Oil Terminal including Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment, Cost Estimates and       

• Preliminary Economic Evaluation.

2nd Phase:

•  Preliminary Design of a Deep Water Container Terminal including Container traffic study, additional geotechnical     investigations, Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment, Cost Estimates and Preliminary Economic Evaluation;

• Preliminary Design of the rehabilitation and recovery of the area now occupied by the existing oil facilities and plan for its reutilization.
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