Civil Engineering May 2022 | Vol 30 No 4

10 May 2022 Civil Engineering late 2016, with the land works commencing in early 2018. The first parts of the quay and rear crane rail were completed in December 2018, allowing for commis- sioning of the ship-to-shore cranes. The first milestone achieved was the handover of the project works (the first commercial operations for two container berths of 700 m) to the operator in June 2019. The second milestone (commercial operations for three container berths of 1 000 m) was achieved in April 2020. The marine works for the fourth berth were completed significantly ahead of schedule during June 2020. A consolidated master schedule was kept, detailing all interfaces between the construction packages. This was reviewed and updated to ensure slippages were identified and mitigated. “With this vigorous approach, the team was able to identify discrepancies between planned and actual performance of the ground improvement and dredging works. This, in turn, allowed for timely interventions to be made and additional production capacity brought online to mitigate delays,” says Simpson. Further to this, the impact of any ter- minal construction delays was minimised by prioritising areas and facilities required for operations and ensuring that these were completed ahead of schedule. A TRULY MULTI-NATIONAL TEAM The packages were completed within budget, with minimal claims, through consistent contract management, identifi- cation and management of risk and change, and clear communications between the parties. Changes were closely monitored through early identification and quantifica- tion (in terms of cost and time) and agreed through variations to avoid protracted and possibly disputed contractual claims. This was a mammoth task given the large multinational team working on the project which included the Ghanaian client (with French and Dutch share- holders) and AECOM as the multinational project management consultant, em- ploying staff from Ghana, South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. In addition, the major international contractors, CHEC from China and Eiffage from France, the international designers and checking engineers (based in the United Kingdom, France, Hong Kong, China, Ivory Coast and South Africa) and several local sub-contractors and global suppliers all added to the international teamwork. Managing the procurement of glob- ally sourced long-lead items was a key consideration, with imports coming from Europe, China, the Middle East, and India. “Schedule coordination was imperative to ensure that follow-on contracts were not delayed. A robust ma- terial master list was prepared, tracked and updated to accurately capture all long-lead materials. Collaborative plan- ning between all parties resulted in quick alignment on the project goals, with essential elements prioritised for comple- tion to meet the client’s operational needs,” says Simpson. The design needed special attention because Ghana is seismically active