The fundamental parameters of a terminal are defined within the design project's technical section: the number of quays and their dimensions, the type of loading equipment, quantitative and qualitative characteristics for the loading and storage areas, space required for road vehicles and so on. Next, the document moves on to the masterplan department.
The key objective for the masterplan engineers is to position all the components of the facility (quays, technical equipment, buildings, roads) on the site territory. The positioning of these elements should ensure the seamless and efficient operation of the port as a whole, as well as due observance of all technical requirements.
At the same time, the masterplan specialists are tasked with another objective, no less important than tying in the specified technical installations to the actual site: they also have to carry out their part of the project in such a way that expenditure on dredging and land preparation is kept to a minimum.
In other words, we always adopt the same approach to our work: any element of a project, be it an access route, a technical installation or a building, has to be designed and engineered to minimise both the area that it takes up, and the amount of groundwork that has to be undertaken to accommodate it. Education and theoretical knowledge on their own are not enough to achieve this – you need experience and an understanding of how port facilities operate, specialised software to enable you to model installations, and also a thorough knowledge of the regulatory framework.