The Port of Huelva is the fifth busiest port in Spain and the 29th out of approximately 1200 ports in Europe. ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products is contributing to its ongoing expansion with the supply of steel sheet piles, rails, and sections produced in Luxembourg.

525-metre-long extension

The Port of Huelva is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The area has been one of Europe’s main gateways for maritime trade since Roman times. Huelva maintains this legacy acting as a major hub of the European trade network, linking to the African and American continents. With the need to cater to growing demands while keeping the port’s high quality of service, the Port Authority of Huelva decided to welcome the future with a 525-metre-long extension of its south quay.

A complete solution developed jointly by ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling, the stakeholders, and the decision makers

In April 2017, the Port of Huelva commissioned a feasibility report of design alternatives. This report indicated steel sheet piles as the preferred solution, with key considerations like quality assurance and environmental benefits as only achievable with steel sheet pile walls. The remaining, but not insignificant, hurdle to sort was the economics.

In the ensuing two-year period, the project went from preliminary design to tender award with Ferrovial Construcción SA winning the bid in May 2019. During this period, the ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling team was hired several times by the designers, contractor, and the Port of Huelva for technical advice and solution optimisation. This gave the team a unique understanding of the project, which in turn contributed to aligning project design, execution, and end-use for an economically successful project.

All products made in Luxembourg

The first delivery of steel products took place in April 2020. Overall, ArcelorMittal supplied:

• 8070 tonnes of HZ-M®/AZ® double pile combined wall up to 33m long - tailor made to project requirements in Differdange and Belval and used as principal structural elements for the quay wall. They were produced from 100% recycled steel in electric arc furnaces, obtaining the EcoSheetPile™ label.
• 1180 tonnes of anchorage material from state-of-the-art specialist manufacturer Anker Schroeder.
• 207 tonnes of crane rails, produced in Rodange, to extend the crane track from the existing quay onto the new one.
• 150 tonnes of sections, produced in Differdange and Belval, used to connect the anchoring system.

Finishing works

With the main steel sheet pile structure already in place, the ongoing finishing works at the Port of Huelva are due to be complete in 2022.

The ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling team continues its work at the disposal of stakeholders around the world looking to harness the benefits of sheet piles for their project needs.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
© Port of Huelva
© ArcelorMittal

Related link(s)

Puerto de Huelva

The 2021 edition of ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling’s general catalogue ‘Steel foundation solutions’ is now available!

This new edition introduces the new HZ 630M profile for HZ-M/AZ combined walls.

We also detailed the methodology used for running our life-cycle assessment to obtain our specific Environmental Product Declarations.

Download the new catalogue below or from our Document library.

Related link(s)

ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling: Steel Foundation Solutions