Al Faris Proves Heavy-Lift Expertise in UAE

By Simon West

From Issue 1, 2025 of Breakbulk Magazine.

(3-minute read)

Al Faris has once again demonstrated its expertise in tackling large-scale industrial projects after it successfully handled more than 500 over-dimensional cargo packages for the Borouge 4 petrochemical complex in Ruwais, UAE.

The heavy-lift specialist was called into action after Borouge, a joint venture (JV) between UAE state energy company ADNOC and Austria-based chemical manufacturer Borealis, awarded construction contracts for the expansion of the petrochemical facility to engineering firms Technip Energies and Maire Tecnimont in late 2021.

Vimal Jose, commercial manager at Al Faris, told Breakbulk that a large chunk of the company’s transport resources was allocated to the project in 2024, mainly to meet demand from the near-constant arrival of ocean vessels into AD Ports Group’s Mugharraq Port in the western Al Dhafra region.

Among the massive components offloaded and delivered by Al Faris were a 365-tonne cracked gas dryer tower, a 216-tonne cold flare drum and a pair of 102-tonne warm flare drums. The heaviest pieces were two, 510-tonne gas phase reactors measuring 36.6 meters long and 10 meters wide, which were carried from the fabrication yard to the port.

To transport the cargo, Al Faris deployed its own specialized equipment including hydraulic multi-axle trailers, heavy-duty tractors and self-propelled modular trailers (SPMTs). Most of the deliveries from Mugharraq – which AD Ports officially inaugurated in 2023 to serve as a hub for local oil and gas operations including downstream facilities at Ruwais – took between three and four nights, Jose said.

Dubai-headquartered Al Faris, the region’s largest crane and transport vehicle rental contractor, was also tasked with delivering 21 pipe racks from their fabrication facilities in Jebel Ali to the Borouge 4 site. The biggest of these elevated steel structures, typically used in chemical plants to support piping, cable trays and power cables, measured 36 meters long and weighed 120 tonnes.

“During the design phase of the pipe racks, we collaborated closely with our customers to ensure they were optimized for road transportation,” Jose said. “We then successfully transported the units from Jebel Ali to Ruwais. To navigate the journey, we obtained special approvals from authorities to safely transport these heavy loads across bridges.”

One of the toughest hurdles for the project team was navigating a dense network of electrical lines with varying voltages along the route, all the while ensuring the necessary clearance levels were upheld. Tackling the challenge required close coordination and negotiations with local distribution and transmission companies such as Transco and ADDC.

“We arranged several route modifications to ensure the safe transportation of the cargo, particularly in cases where the cargo and trailer did not have sufficient clearance under the power lines,” Jose said.

A World-Class Project in the UAE

Billed as one of the UAE’s largest industrial projects, Borouge 4 is the fourth expansion phase of the sprawling Ruwais polyolefins complex in Abu Dhabi. Covering some 3.4 million square meters – equivalent to 500 football pitches – the US$6.2 billion project will boost Borouge’s total production capacity by about 30% to 6.4 million tonnes per year, making it the world’s largest single-site polyolefin complex.

Alongside colossal processing units, Borouge 4’s construction phase is also calling for the transport and installation of 7,500 kilometers of cables, 340,000 cubic meters of concrete and 77,500 tonnes of structural steel. Operations are slated to start by the end of 2025.

Technip Energies is working alongside TARGET Engineering to build a 1.5 million tonne-per-year ethane cracker, while Maire Tecnimont’s subsidiary Tecnimont will construct two new polyethylene production plants and a 1-hexene plant, associated utilities and offsites, and a 100,000 tonne-per-year cross-linkable polyethylene (XLPE) plant.

“This transport project has been a milestone for us in establishing ourselves into the heavy haulage market in the UAE, especially in Abu Dhabi,” Jose said. “With state-of-the-art equipment, precision engineering and first glass operations, we are delighted to have served our customers beyond their expectations, giving us more business opportunities and the ability to spread our wings in this niche market.”

Al Faris, ADNOC and AD Ports Group will be exhibiting at Breakbulk Middle East 2025 on Feb 10-11 in Dubai. Borealis, Technip Energies and Maire Tecnimont are members of the Breakbulk Global Shipper Network.