MARAEN Port of Nigg has awarded the construction contract for its eastern inner dock quay to McLaughlin & Harvey.
The project represents a total investment of over £30 million and will deliver a new heavy-duty quay spanning approximately 16,000m², providing Maraen Port of Nigg with additional roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) capability. Construction preparations have now commenced on site.
The development is supported by a £10 million grant from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), forming part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to invest up to £500 million over five years to strengthen Scotland’s offshore wind supply chain.
McLaughlin & Harvey brings a strong track record at Port of Nigg, having previously reconstructed the South Quay between 2014 and 2015 – a project that included the installation of 370m new combi-pile quay wall and a 130m x 40m West Finger Quay. That longstanding relationship, built on shared values of quality, safety and delivery, made McLaughlin & Harvey a trusted choice for this next chapter of infrastructure investment.
Seamus Devlin, MD at McLaughlin & Harvey, said, “We’re pleased to be returning to the Port of Nigg, enhancing port capacity and operational capability by creating a new quay for the energy sector. This project draws on our experience of delivering complex marine projects in port infrastructure across the UK and Ireland.”
Maraen Port of Nigg already holds a recognised position as a strategic hub within the energy industry, supporting projects both offshore and onshore. With its deepwater berths, Green Freeport Tax site, and customs site status and a proven record of supporting the deployment of over 4GW of offshore wind capacity, the port is trusted by developers to deliver at scale.
The EIDQ will further build on this position. The new quay will serve as a dedicated load-out and export facility for high voltage cables manufactured at the adjacent Sumitomo Electric HVDC cable facility, providing a direct, port-side link between production and deployment.
Beyond this immediate purpose, the new quay will increase both capacity and capability across the port – enhancing the ability to conduct complex, simultaneous operations and meet the growing demands of the energy industry.
Rory Gunn, facilities director at Maraen Port of Nigg, said, “The Eastern Inner Dock Quay is a significant project for Maraen Port of Nigg. This investment not only provides a dedicated load out quay for cables from the new Sumitomo factory, its construction also increases the overall quayside capacity of our port. The new quay will provide our current and future customers with critical load in and load out options and greatly increases our deep-water quay availability. This project is exactly the kind of targeted infrastructure that the energy industry needs from us and we are looking forward to delivering another successful capital investment project at our site.
“We’re pleased to be working again with McLaughlin & Harvey, who know this site well and understand what it takes to successfully deliver projects here to the high quality and safety standards we demand. Their work on the south quay transformed the capabilities at the Port of Nigg and enabled us to attract large energy sector project which could previously not be accommodated at our site.”
