Dubai: ACES wins geo works deal for Hassyan plant

The Dubai branch of the Arab Center for Engineering Studies (ACES) has been awarded the geotechnical investigation for the Hassyan Coal Power Plant in the UAE.

The Hassyan clean coal power plant will be the first coal-based plant in the GCC and will be designed to optimise efficiency, output, and adherence to global environmental best practice.

It marks a key step in the UAE’s long-term energy strategy of reducing dependence on natural gas and diversifying its fuel mix in line with the objectives set out in the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030.

The extensive scope of work, awarded by Consolidated Contractors Ccompany (CCC) and Nepti, includes drilling of 135 offshore boreholes with depths up to 20 meters below seabed, drilling of 425 on land boreholes with depths up to 35 meters and excavation of trial pits.

Additionally, the investigation includes substantial field testing and monitoring, including the installation of piezometers, packer permeability testing, falling head permeability testing, pressuremeter testing, as well as down-hole and surficial electrical resistivity geophysical tests.

The tight project schedule, which had an overall duration of 85 days, was completed in Mid-September and required ACES to mobilise a total of 17 rigs and five off-shore pontoons.

The required resources were provided entirely by ACES UAE, through a joint effort between the Dubai and Abu Dhabi branches.