06 February 2017 - Aurecon’s decades of experience and innovative thinking in the design, delivery, expansion and operation of global ports, has been recognised for its invaluable contribution to the ports and terminals industry.

Global engineering and infrastructure advisory company Aurecon received the following six awards at the inaugural Global Ports Forum Awards 2017 in Dubai, coming closely after two recent awards for port projects at Australia’s prestigious Engineers Australia Awards:

• Gabbro Berth Terminal, Port of Umm Sa’id (Mesaieed), Qatar
  • Winner – Bulk Commodities Port/Terminal of the Year
  • Winner – Port/Terminal Software/Operating System of the Year
  • Winner – Port/Terminal of the Year in the Middle East
• Hay Point Coal Terminal, Port of Hay Point, Australia
  • Winner – Port/Terminal of the Year – Australia/New Zealand
• Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal, Port of Gladstone, Australia
  • Winner – Port/Terminal Engineering/Technical Innovation of the Year.
• David Zammit – Engineering and Construction Manager for Gabbro Berth Terminal
  • Winner – Port/Terminal Professional of the Year

The Global Ports Forum recognises the significant roles and achievements of organisations and professionals in their contributions to different areas of the ports and terminal industry.

“These awards recognise the value of our enquiring mindset approach and asking ‘Why?’ to help clients solve complex challenges. Whether we’re advising on optimising a port’s logistics and supply chain, or future-proofing a marine structure, we empower our teams to ask the questions that will encourage innovation and ultimately add meaningful value to our clients’ businesses and the communities they serve,” says Arne Nilsen, Aurecon’s Global Service Leader for Ports & Marine.

“To any client challenge we bring a holistic perspective based on our experience of working on some of the largest terminals in the world, whether it’s discrete design or assessing a full operating business”, he adds.

Supply chain management and modelling for bulk materials handling

In line with its vision to increase capacity for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and the Qatar National Vision 2030, the Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC) initiated the expansion of the Gabbro Berth Terminal at the Port of Umm Sa’id (Mesaieed), making it the largest bulk terminal in the Middle East and one of the largest, if not the largest, aggregate unloading terminals in the world.

To make this happen, Aurecon played a leading role in providing business advice to inform capital expenditure and delivering technical design review, project delivery, advisory, and asset management services. With the help of sophisticated simulation modelling, the project team was able to demonstrate how the bulk materials handling system could operate in order to identify and resolve the bottlenecks that would prevent the port from maximising its capacity.

David Zammit, who was recognised for his significant hands-on contribution to the performance and productivity of the Gabbro Berth Terminal, highlighted the key to the team’s success. “Drawing on expertise across geographies and cultures served as an effective foundation, providing compelling future-ready recommendations and innovative solutions – all of which enabled us to turn our client’s vision into reality.”

From cradle to optimising operations

Growing trade in the global economy is driving an increase in shipping and the need for increased efficiency and capacity of ports and marine facilities.

Aurecon’s innovative and future ready solutions played a key role in the delivery of the ground-breaking Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) in Queensland. Ten years in the making from concept to operation, its world-first fully-automated gantry stacker enables greater export capacity and stockyard control, and the facility set new standards in limiting dust emissions. Ongoing support for management and operations is helping to serve the local industry’s needs now and for decades to come.

The Hay Point Coal Terminal, also in Queensland, is one of the most-efficient and largest bulk terminals in the world. Aurecon’s extensive marine and bulk materials handling expertise underpinned the innovative design to deliver its third, most recent expansion phase (HPX3) to increase throughput while future-proofing its operations from extreme weather events. This builds on Aurecon’s previous work on the terminal’s development including expansion phases HPX1 and HPX2.

“Receiving these awards is indeed an inspiring and motivating moment, as we start the year; it fuels our dedication to leveraging innovative design-driven solutions, to address the challenges in our continuously progressing world,” concludes Arne.