Advisian, the global advisory business of the WorleyParsons Group, has seen significant growth in their Ports and Marine Terminals division in recent months, as increasing emphasis is placed on efficient terminal operations, which are essential for sustaining national competitiveness, addressing the challenges of population growth, urbanisation and climate change, and maintaining and growing market share for any port complex.
Headquartered in Cape Town, Advisian’s Sub-Saharan Ports and Marine Terminals practice plans, designs and provides construction oversight for port terminals and marine and coastal structures. The South African based team comprises multi-national engineering professionals, bringing together capabilities and experience from Brazil, Australia, Spain, Italy and South Africa.
Francois Smit, Practice Manager for Ports and Marine Terminals in Sub-Saharan Africa, heads up the team and says that Advisian’s range of expertise includes coastal and marine structures engineering, ocean and coastal processes modelling, and marine terminal planning and design. He adds that the team’s capabilities extend across the full range of terminal types and incorporates support for clients in all project phases, from feasibility studies and preliminary and detailed engineering design, through to procurement, construction supervision and management.
According to Advisian, as companies turn more and more towards shipping as a viable transport alternative, ports and marine terminal operators are faced with their own challenges, such as the rapid growth of freight volumes, cyclical demand for mineral resources (and the remoteness of these resources), as well as the increasing role of ports in global supply chain management. In order to cope with these challenges, brownfield ports around the world are finding it necessary to revisit their capacities, production efficiencies and service offerings, and in some instances greenfield ports need to be developed to meet changing and growing demands.
Smit says that what makes Advisian unique is its capability to provide management and strategic advisory services that are coupled with in-house technical consulting supported by deep domain expertise. The real world practical experience and technical knowledge of Advisian’s consultants are coming to the fore in successfully delivering vital transport infrastructure to connect communities and industries and address transport challenges. In addition to providing port and terminal operators with a comprehensive range of services spanning the full project lifecycle, Advisian also offers customers access to industry knowledge and technical specialties needed to compete effectively in a rapidly changing and competitive environment.
He explains that while the South African branch of Advisian primarily supports sub-Saharan Africa, the Ports and Marine Terminals team also provides assistance to Advisian and WorleyParsons’ global offices, as illustrated by the team’s recent involvement in projects in the Black Sea, Turkey, Iraq, the UAE and Oman. Conversely, the African market likewise benefits from leveraging the group’s global capabilities, such as iron ore expertise out of Australia, subsea and floating systems expertise through the Advisian INTECSEA group, and high value design services through Global Design Centres situated in India and China.
Locally, the team works closely with other Advisian SSA practices, including Transport, Minerals and Metals, Energy, Environment & Society, Operations Improvement and Specialist Consulting. The team similarly supports the WorleyParsons RSA hydrocarbons, mining and infrastructure engineering services divisions on projects throughout the region, and also has extensive experience working with Chinese EPC contractors in both engineering design and independent review engineer roles.
Globally, the WorleyParsons group is at the forefront of marine engineering, offering master planning, comprehensive design, field services, permitting assistance, project and programme management and construction supervision for port projects. These diverse marine capabilities and understanding of complex port requirements for commercial ports and the mining and hydrocarbons industries allows for the integration of environmental, coastal, geotechnical and market conditions in designs to deliver long-term, cost-effective and efficient solutions.
As part of the WorleyParsons Group, Advisian has over 2 700 consultants in 19 countries around the world and draws upon its global expertise and experience to provide management and strategic advisory services to their clients at all stages of the project life cycle in order to drive capital productivity, minimise operational expenditure and increase operating margins through environmental optimisation.