Arabian Gulf holds much promise for entrepreneurial dredgers

AALST – Flemish dredging contractor Jan de Nul has landed an order to build an island near the Arabian Gulf city of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The Flemish firm edged out well-known Dutch competitor Boskalis on the $175 million two-year contract. Dutch dredging firm, Rotterdam-based Van Oord also is building a luxurious island in the Gulf. For the palm-shaped island the firm must move one billion cubic metres of soil, an eight-year contract. Earlier, Jan De Nul built a large scorpion tail-shaped resort in the Gulf, near Dubai. Its price tag was $1.35 billion. The firm employs 2,850 people worldwide, Van Oord 2,900. Dutch shipyards are faring well by the spin-off benefits since the dredging firms are modernizing their fleets.