Any type of terminal is a complicated engineering installation. Designing hydrotechnical elements, vessel loading and unloading systems, road and rail access demands in-depth knowledge and experience. But if construction is planned of several terminals of different types simultaneously, serving different vessels and using different technologies, then the complexity of the project increases many times over.
Design solutions must ensure the effective operation of road and rail transport so that the two elements do not negatively impact upon one another. For access points and areas where heavy machinery will be used, it is vital to find the optimal configuration. It is crucially important to design the harbour section so that dredging and sea-defence works can be kept to a minimum, to reduce capital expenditure. A well thought out layout for both the terminals and their access routes, due consideration for how individual elements affect one another in terms of fire access, health and safety and a host of other factors will define the efficiency and operating safety of a port for decades to come.
Of course, commissions to design multi-terminal ports do not arise very often, but this makes our experience and success in this sphere all the more valuable.
We are tasked much more often to design and engineer separate terminals: for passengers, various types of bulk cargo, container terminals (water- and land-based), LNG terminals, etc. Dozens of such projects have been engineered, built and successfully operated.