Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has awarded a major construction contract including the building of a steel fabrication shop.

The Dh32-million project has been awarded to UAE contractor Al Hamed Development and Construction and is the second of two major construction projects planned in ADSB's ongoing facility expansion.

Al Hamed is expected to complete the project facilities by the end of next year, ADSB said.

"On completion, ADSB will have state-of-the-art manufacturing processes to support both local and regional ship building and repair," ADSB said in a release.

Giving details, it said the steel workshop would have an area of 2,300 sq m and would include a CNC plate cutting machine, a 400-tonne portal press and a steel fabrication area for the manufacture of steel components.

Two 20-tonne overhead cranes would be installed to support the fabrication of large block components to be used for efficient modular ship construction.

The contract also includes construction of a new blasting and painting building which will include air-conditioning and filtration systems to ensure paint quality and the control of environmental emissions.

The new warehouse will store parts procured for manufacture as well as spare parts to support customers' service needs.

The administration building covered in the contract will have an area of 1,200 sq m. Accommodation blocks, a dining hall and recreation areas are also to be constructed under the contract.

"ADSB's overall expansion will result in the capability to construct and repair both military and commercial vessels up to 85m in length and 2,100 lightweight tonnes by April of 2001," said the company.

"The rest of the new facilities will be phased in throughout the year 2001 and, when completed, will make ADSB the most technologically advanced and capable shipyard in the Gulf,'' it added.