Chinese firm to put up new offshore manufacturing yard in Qidong

Chinese infrastructure company Wison New Energies (WNE) and the Qidong Municipal Government of Jiangsu province have entered into an investment agreement to indicate the official launch of WNE's new yard for offshore facilities construction in the Qidong Lusi Port Economic Development Zone.

The WNE Qidong Yard lies in the eastern harbour of Lusi Port, about 98 kilometres away from WNE's head office in Shanghai and only 85 kilometres away from the company's Nantong yard, which constructs floating facilities. WNE said these three yards form a stable triangle facilitating the management and execution throughout the project life cycle.

Plans are for the development of the Qidong yard into a high-end offshore equipment manufacturing facility, accommodating hull and module fabrication, integration, and commissioning.

The WNE Qidong Yard covers approximately 120 hectares. Phase I contains a shoreline length of 1,370 metres with an excavated deep-water harbour basin.

According to the development plan, there will be a 520- by 110-metre offshore dock, along with a 2,000-tonne gantry crane. This yard will also have a module assembly area of 150,000 square metres and a 1,200-tonne gantry crane, a berth for lifting and shipping modules up to 5,000 tonnes, and a Ro-Ro shipping terminal for modules up to 10,000 tonnes.

The Wison Qidong Yard will be able to process up to 250,000 tonnes of steel per year by the time Phase I is built and put into operation in the fourth quarter of 2025.