Jan De Nul Group finalises current investment program 2007 ?EUR" 2010 by placing two major orders amounting to 400 mln Euro. Today a contract was signed with Uljanik Shipyard in Pula, Croatia for the construction of a third self-propelled cutter suction dredger. This vessel will be identical to the two units under construction at the same Yard and is due for delivery early 2010. These three identical cutter suction dredgers, each with an installed power of 23 520 kW and a construction weight of 11 000 ton, will incorporate all know-how acquired from the construction and operation of the Marco Polo (built in 1979), the Leonardo da Vinci (1985) and the J.F.J. De Nul (2003). The Jan De Nul Group has formally ordered a second 46 000 m3 mega hopperdredger from the La Naval Shipyard in Sestao, Spain. The first unit will be available by the end of 2008, and the second identical one by the end of 2009. The Group now has 5 hopperdredgers under construction, ranging from 3 700 to 46 000 m3 hoppercapacity, with a total of 110 700 m3. This will bring the total capacity of the Jan De Nul Group fleet of hopperdredgers from 155 000 to 265 000 m3, an increase of 70 %. With these investments the Jan De Nul Group continues its expansion, building state of the art vessels in shipyards in Holland, Spain, Croatia, Korea and China. The current 1,25 billion Euro investment program 2007 ?EUR" 2010 now consists of 19 vessels, i.e.: - Two 46 000 m3 mega hopperdredgers. - Two 7 500 m3 hopperdredgers. - Three 23 520 kW self-propelled cutter suction dredgers. - One 6000 ton side stone dumping vessel. - One 32 000 ton fallpipe & mining vessel. - Three very large backhoe dredgers, with buckets up to 40 m³. - Two 3 700 m3 splitbarges. - One 3 700 m3 splithopperdredger. - Four 1 800 m3 splitbarges. The first delivery will be done this year, and deliveries will continue until early 2010. The fleet expansion triggers an increase in Jan De Nul Group?EUR(TM)s workforce from the actual 4000 with 850 seaman and 400 staff to over 5250 people. The investment programme further strengthens the dominant position of Jan De Nul Group in the dredging industry. Its balanced, versatile fleet, with an average age of 10.7 years in 2010 will prove to be the major asset in executing the most challenging projects and servicing our worldwide clients. source: Jan De Nul Tags : dredging, Jan De Nul, cutter suction dredger, Uljanik Shipyard