Major Infrastructure Works to Enable Port to Establish as Wind Generator Supply Base

FRANCE – Last month we told how HAROPA – Port Le Havre was investing in communication technology and now one of the names mentioned in its ‘Smart City’ consortium, that of energy giant Siemens, has come up again with regard to an even bigger project at the Normandy port.

To facilitate the infrastructure required when Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A. (SGRE) develops its next offshore wind project, quays capable of handling the huge turbine blades will need to be constructed and commissioned. To handle the extraordinarily large and heavy components used in wind power (blades nearly 100 metres long and cargo loads weighing 800 tonnes), the Joannès Couvert quay needs modification work to increase its capacity to 25 tonnes per square metre.

Now HAROPA – Port Le Havre has commissioned works including the creation of two berths along 400 metres of the current quay, both being 200 metres each. One ‘Jack-up’ is where vessels will moor to be loaded with heavy components stored on the quayside, whilst the other ‘Lo-Lo’ will be dedicated to import and export of various components.

Specifically, the upper part of the current quay will be cut to a height of four metres. A reinforced concrete slab will be supported on metal piles and the lower part of the existing structure in order to strengthen it. This will require circa 100 30-metre-high metal piles over two metres in diameter supplemented by over 500 bored concrete piles over a metre in diameter.

The consortium selected to undertake the project comprises Eiffage Génie Civil, ETMF, ETPO, NGE Fondations and SDI, and Xavier Mony, CEO of Eiffage Génie Civil commented:

“This is a proud moment for a company long established in the region, to be chosen to carry out a project on this scale, which reflects its expertise in maritime and river construction and is also an opportunity to contribute to the development of low carbon energies in France.”

Construction of these two quays also involves work to reinforce the sea floor of the Théophile Ducrocq basin. At the base of the quay, a layer of aggregate will be laid to reinforce the seabed and the overall cost of the works, an investment of €64.9 million, is a part of HAROPA – Port of Le Havre’s €123.6 million global port redevelopment programme, backed by the French state, the Region, the Le Havre Sein Métropole Urban Community, the city of Le Havre, and the Le Havre Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The work is estimated to take 84 weeks in total and will enable the turbine blade manufacture and assembly plant to be built by SGRE. Baptiste Maurand, CEO of HAROPA – Port du Havre observed:

“This is a new and decisive step for this major offshore wind project in Le Havre. The beginning of these works is a tangible sign of this so-called ‘old port’ area’s regeneration and its new role consolidating an industry sector of the future in the form of renewable energy.”