ADSB awards contract for new facilities

Yard News - November 3, 2000

Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that it has awarded a major construction contract to a local contractor, Al Hamed Development and Construction. The contract, valued at approximately AED 32 million, is the second of two major construction contracts planned in ADSB's ongoing facility expansion, which will be completed by the end of next year.

This latest contract includes the construction of a steel fabrication shop, outfit workshop, repair shop, a warehouse complex, administrative and technical offices as well as worker accommodation facilities. Upon completion, ADSB will have state of theart manufacturing processes to support both local and regional shipbuilding and repair.

A 2,300m2 steel workshop will be constructed, which will include a CNC plate cutting machine, 400t portal press and a steel fabrication area for the efficient manufacture of steel components. Two 20t overhead cranes will be installed to support the fabrication of large block components to be used for efficient modular ship construction.

A 1600m2 outfit workshop will include a pipe shop, sheet metal shop and a woodworking shop to manufacture shipboard components. A 1700m2 repair workshop will include a machine shop and electrical shop to support both ship repair and ship building requirements.Al Hamed's contract also includes the construction of a new blasting and painting building, which will include air conditioning and filtration systems to ensure paint quality and the control of environmental emissions.

A new warehouse complex will store parts procured for manufacture as well as spare parts to support our customer's service needs. In addition to the production facilities, the contract includes the construction of a new 1,200m2 administration building and new employee accommodation blocks, dining hall and recreation areas.

ADSB's overall expansion project will result in the capability to construct and repair both military and commercial vessels up to 85m in length and 2,100t lightweight tons by April of 2001. The rest of the new facilities will be phased in throughout theyear 2001 and, when completed, will make ADSB one of the most technologically advanced and capable shipyard in the Gulf Region.