Gulf Construction Online - Red Sea Project key groundwork to begin

Saudi Focus

A concept of the Red Sea Project.

Red Sea Project key groundwork to begin

01 October 2019

Saudi-based The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind one of the world’s most ambitious tourism initiatives, has signed up Huta Hegerfield and Saudconsulting Services (Saudconsult) to undertake a major groundwork improvement project for the Coastal Village at the Red Sea Project site.

As per the deal, Huta Hegerfield will be responsible for raising the ground level and ground improvement for the 1.5-million-sq-m Coastal Village area. This will house the workers, staff and management of The Red Sea Project, and will include corporate offices, housing and high-end facilities.

To raise the ground at the Coastal Village site to 3.52 m above sea level, Huta Hegerfield will transport 2.6 million cu m of fill by extracting soil and other material from a nearby hill.

In addition to raising the land, a process of ground improvement, known as dynamic compaction or rapid impact compaction, will also improve the existing soil around the Coastal Village, said TRSDC.

The work was due to start late last month for completion within five months, it stated.

To meet TRSDC’s strict sustainability targets, the ground improvement work includes measures to reduce the environmental impact for both the land and sea. This includes minimising the underwater noise impact on marine life, and restoration of the hill, it added.

For Saudconsult, the scope of work includes construction supervision consultancy services, to ensure all elements of the design and construction remain on schedule, whilst observing and monitoring the quality of all construction works, to guarantee that all works are fit for the intended purpose.

Announcing the deals, CEO John Pagano said: “TRSDC is very pleased to award these contracts to Huta Hegerfield and Saudconsult. With their in-depth knowledge and local expertise, both are extremely well placed to work with us on this project.”

“The Coastal Village will be home to 14,000 employees from The Red Sea Project community when Phase One of the destination opens and we will provide the highest quality accommodation and a wide range of facilities, whilst meeting our own stringent environmental standards. Partnering with Huta Hegerfield and Saudconsult will help us meet these ambitions,” stated Pagano.

Since announcing the commencement of operations at its Project Base Camp earlier this year, TRSDC has started work on its 1-sq-km landscape nursery, a 3.3-km crossing to a hub island and 10,000 residential units for construction workers.

In a small area of the Coastal Village set aside for corporate offices, ground improvement has already been completed and construction is already under way under a separate contract. These offices are scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2020, said the developer.

The buildings are set to accommodate 500 people and provide supporting amenities including a 160-seat restaurant and 100-seat auditorium. The Village will also provide temporary housing for 25,000 workers who will be building the infrastructure and assets, it added.