Reclamation on Durrat Marina complete

Land reclamation of the Durrat Marina islands, part of the Durrat al Bahrain residential resort, has been completed ahead of schedule.

Over 5 million m3 of rock, sand, earth and gravel has been reclaimed in just 24 months to create the three new islands, which are now ready for development.

Designed by Atkins, the mixed-use Durrat al Bahrain development and 400-berth marina will "act as a catalyst for retail and commercial development", according to the company.

With the hand-over of Phase I well under way, Atkins was retained to continue as engineering and site supervision for the three islands which have a total area over 480000 m².

With water forming the central theme, work on the marine reclamation and shore protection scheme for the three curved islands necessitated complex engineering as the design looked to maximise sea frontage by incorporating canals and beaches.

The elliptical shorelines are protected by over 600000 tonnes of locally quarried limestone rock revetments and 150000 tonnes of concrete quay wall edge protection.

Significant to the speed of installing the edge protection following reclamation was the predesign of foundations to accommodate predicted settlement within subgrade materials below the quay wall foundations.

This enabled the contractor to progress with construction on site while closely monitoring settlement of the completed sections of walls to ensure it was within the expected limits. It also meant that what would normally be considered unsuitable material could be left in place, significantly reducing the overall construction cost.

Reclamation work on the Golf Course linked to the marina continues with completion planned for the end of the year.