Work on the new berths 5-7 in Cuxhaven for the expansion of the German Offshore Industry Center began in early February with a symbolic first pile drive.
The first preparatory clearing dredging work is currently being carried out by the hydraulic engineering contractors in the area of the planned sheet pile wall of the quay structure. Subsequently, the new continuous quay between the Europakai and the offshore terminals will be installed with sheet piles over a length of 1,250 meters. Construction is expected to take 3.5 years.
The client is the port company Niedersachsen Ports. A consortium consisting of the companies Tiefbau GmbH Unterweser, Heinrich Hirdes GmbH, Nordsee Nassbagger- und Tiefbau GmbH and Depenbrock Ingenieurwasserbau GmbH & Co KG is responsible for implementation. In a previous bidding process, the consortium had been awarded the contract thanks to an optimized secondary offer for the foundation and superstructure as well as the high proportion of special machinery, such as jack-up platforms. The partner companies involved also have relevant expertise and references. Depenbrock is responsible for the technical management. “Here in Cuxhaven, we are starting out as part of a strong and well-coordinated community that is unparalleled in terms of machinery and experience in dredging, port and hydraulic engineering,” explained Managing Partner Erik Depenbrock.
Jan Paulsen, spokesman for the dredging consortium, emphasizes the importance of the project as a further building block on the way to energy independence and climate neutrality: “Heinrich Hirdes and Nordsee Nassbagger und Tiefbau – as the consortium partners responsible for the dredging and land reclamation work – are delighted to be able to contribute all their strengths and expertise to the realization of this enormously important project for Cuxhaven and the energy transition.”
New berths for offshore transshipment
The three new berths, together with the associated 38 hectares of terminal space, will be built on the Elbe over a length of 1,250 meters directly on the coastline. With these additional berths, a continuous quay will be built in Cuxhaven between berths 1 to 4 and the existing offshore berths 8 and 9. The new berths are designed in particular for the handling of wind turbines and will help to meet the increased demand for handling and storage space for onshore and offshore wind turbines. It will later be possible to use jack-up vessels at the berths. These special ships, which are primarily used in the offshore sector, can stabilize themselves using four piles. These press into the ground under water with a load of up to 100 tons per m2 and thus form an extremely stable anchorage.
Olaf Lies, the new Minister President of Lower Saxony since May 20, said in February, still in his role as Lower Saxony’s Minister of Economic Affairs: “We are building much more than just a jetty here. This project stands for a resilient, clean and permanently affordable energy supply not only for Lower Saxony, but for the whole of Germany. And it provides incentives for companies to settle in Lower Saxony. With the port expansion, we are creating urgently needed capacities for the energy industry. Cuxhaven will continue to become a central logistics hub for the expansion of onshore and offshore wind energy in Germany and Europe. This creates added value locally, secures good jobs in the long term and strengthens the economic future of our coast. Cuxhaven and NPorts are continuing to write an exemplary story of how good ideas become concrete projects for the future.”
NPorts invests around €300 million
The port company NPorts is planning the expansion of berths 5-7 with an investment of around €300 million. In order to support the realization, the project will be funded with up to €200 million from the “Joint Task for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures” (GRW) of the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony. The remaining up to €100 million will be pre-financed by the port industry in the form of concessions.
Two concessionaires will later take over the operation of the berths. The company Cuxport GmbH will receive a terminal concession for berths and terminal areas 5 and 6.1, which will cover around 19 hectares once the berths have been built. Completion is planned for 2027. The company Blue Water Breb GmbH will receive a further contract for the adjacent terminal areas 6.2 and 7 with the same area size. Completion is planned for 2028.
“We will be ready exactly when the requirements from the previous expansion targets are at their greatest. With this range of high-performance port infrastructure, local logistics companies can develop their onshore and offshore business with confidence,” says Holger Banik, Managing Director of NPorts. (CE)
