annual report 2009

activ i ty repor t

www.jandenul.com

Table of contentsForeword by the board of directors ..................................................................... 3

outline of activities ............................................................................................ 5

activity report ...................................................................................................11

investments .......................................................................................................29

safety, health, quality and environment .............................................................33

personnel ..........................................................................................................39

Financial key Figures .........................................................................................43

annual accounts ................................................................................................47

jan de nul group projects 2009 .........................................................................53

The content of this document is provided strictly for information purposes only. Whilst it has been endeavoured to procure completeness and accuracy, no warranty – express or implied – is given, in particular of fitness for a particular purpose. In no event any Jan De Nul Group company will be liable for any whatsoever damages arising directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on the content provided herein, even if (previous) advise has been given/received that such damages may occur.

2 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

Fall pipe and mining vessel Simon Stevin

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 3

As announced in our 2008 report, the results of 2009 would be the standard by which we are judged for our mana gement of the credit and subsequent economic crisis that started in 2008. This crisis had to be overcome by rapidly moving part of our Middle East activities to other parts of the world. This spreading of our activities requi red huge efforts from our personnel and particularly from the logistic teams and our marketing division.

As a result we are justly proud of the results. The capacity utilization of our vessels remained at about the same high level. The new vessels that were put into service found work immediately. Only the unexpected difficulties in sand deliveries for Singapore over long distances (from Vietnam, Cambodia) caused initial concern but this pro ved to be short lived and was solved in double quick time.

The 2009 turnover showed a healthy growth and our order portfolio, to be complemented with many short-term projects, makes us feel optimistic for 2010.

Also in 2009, our HR and QA-HSE departments were seri-ously put to the test by the hijacking of the ‘Pompeï’. It was only after long lasting and frustrating negotiations – during which our crisis team, consisting of the HR and QA-HSE departments, the insurance department, the Federal Government (national security service) and the technical division, was available 24/7 – that this vessel, after 71 days, was finally released by the hijackers.

Early in 2010, Jan de Nul was awarded the title, for the second year in a row, Belgium’s ‘Most Popular Employer’. This award was a much-appreciated reward for the great efforts made by all our departments in 2009. We consider ourselves like a well-trained top athlete who, in spite of his many efforts and hardships, looks healthy and vigorous, that’s how the Jan De Nul Group has reached the top.

This is something the Board of Directors is very proud of.

1. Foreword by the Board of Directors

4 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

Architect: Dr. engineer Philippe Samyn, Lierman & Lierman

Office Jan De Nul NV - Aalst (Belgium)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 5

2.1. Turnover

The 2009 turnover reached a new record height and in-creased to € 2.1 billion, an increase by more than 10 % compared to 2008 (€ 1.88 billion). The gross result (EBITDA) increased in 2009 to € 493 million, whereas the profit of this fiscal year trebled to € 253 million (€ 79 mil-lion in 2008). Once again, the Jan de Nul Group had an excellent year - this in spite of the challenging market conditions on account of the worldwide economic crisis.

These strong figures can be explained on the one hand because the turnover was already partly ensured by long-term contracts and we had already many orders in place at the moment the financial crisis broke out. On the other hand, this year as well new vessels from the investment programme 2007-2011 were delivered. The commissioning of the 46,000 m³ trailing suction hopper dredger ‘Cristóbal Cólon’, the 1,800 m³ split hopper barge ‘Concepción’ and the mega backhoe dredger ‘Postnik Yakovlev’ ensured an increase of our dredging capacity.

Although, in fact, we cannot say that the crisis did not have any impact on the Jan De Nul Group. Several land reclamation projects in Dubai (for many years a major turnover source) were suspended or postponed. How-ever, when the crisis broke out, three out of the four land reclamation projects in which Jan De Nul Group was involved, were already more or less completed. Only a fourth land reclamation project, the ‘Dubai Waterfront’, was suspended early in 2009 and deleted from the order portfolio.As a result of the crisis, we also noticed a reluctance among clients to invest in new projects. This resulted in less tenders and a slower growth pace of our order portfolio.

Asia 5 %

Africa 2 %

Others 8 %

Australia 9 %

Latin America 12 %

Europe 20 %

Middle East 44 %

Regional Divisions of Turnover

The Middle East is still the most important region for the Jan De Nul Group with a share of 44 % of our turn-over (compared to 66 % in 2008). This evolution can be explained mainly because that mid 2009 the land recla-mation works in Dubai were either completed or sus-pended so that their share in the turnover remained limited. In 2009, Dubai’s share in the turnover decreased to 2 %.

The main works in this region are: dredging works for a new port in Duqm (Oman), the expansion of a new gas terminal in the port of Ras Laffan (Qatar) and land recla-mation and civil engineering works for the Manifa Field Causeway and Island project in Saudi Arabia. The Middle East is clearly conceding ground to Europe, Australia and Latin America. The increase of the European share can be explained by our strong dredging and civil engineering activities.The ‘Others’ category refers to activities that cannot be assigned unequivocally to a certain region.

Still, the turnover increase in 2009 shows that the Jan De Nul Group anticipated and responded well to the crisis. This said, the Jan De Nul Group also realises that the dredging industry is ‘late cyclical’ and that both 2010 and 2011 will remain a challenge.

2. outline of activit ies

6 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

* Based on 2009 CIRIA valuesThe CIRIA value is a standardised method for expressing the replacement value of a dredger. The value of the ship is estab-lished using a formula. For a trailing suction hopper dredger the empty weight of the ship, the capacity of the dredge pump(s), the power of the jet pumps on the drag head and the ship’s driving force are taken into account. The formula for calculating this value differs according to the type of dredger.

2.3. Order Portfolio

The total order portfolio at the end of 2009, including civil engineering and environment-related works, amounted to more than € 2.6 billion compared to € 2.8 billion at the end of 2008. This slight decrease still assures the Jan De Nul Group of a healthy order port-folio with a more than fair share of the market.

The most important dredging contracts are the dredging and land reclamation works for a new harbour complex in Duqm (Oman), the expansion of the port of Mesaieed (Qatar) and the capital and maintenance dredging and management contract for the rivers Río Paraná and Río de la Plata. Early in 2010, the Argentine government decided to extend this latter contract up to 2021.

Together with the 2 mega backhoe dredgers delivered in 2008, this means that at the end of 2009 already 5 ships from the investment programme were delivered and that 22 ships were still under construction - delivery of these is planned for 2010-2011.

The main vessels that will be delivered in 2010 are the fall pipe vessel ‘Simon Stevin’, the powerful cutter suc-tion dredgers ‘Ibn Battuta’ and ‘Zheng He’ and the 46,000 m³ trailing suction hopper dredger ‘Leiv Eiriks-son’, a sister vessel of the ‘Cristóbal Cólon’.

The following auxiliary vessels were also placed into service in 2009:

5 towboats One fast survey vessel.

The increasing significance of Latin America is a distinct trend and one that, given the geographic division of the order portfolio, will, we consider, continue in future years.

Dredging and marine works 87 %

Turnover according to activity

Civil engineering 11 %

Environment 2 % Maintenance dredging 11 %

Land reclamation 4 %

Offshore 18 %

Rock revetment works 3 %

Capital dredging 43 %

Others 8 %

Evolution of Turnover in million EURO

0500

1,0001,5002,0002,500

TotalOtherdredging works

Dredging andmarine works

Civil engineering& Environment

200920082007200620052004

Evolution of the Fleet of the Jan De Nul Group* in million EURO

RestHopperCutter

0500

1,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000

2012

2010

2008

2006

2004

2002

2000

1998

1996

2.2. Investments

Over the 2007-2011 period, Jan De Nul Group is invest-ing more than € 2 billion of which 1.9 billion goes to the diversifying and expansion of the fleet. The overall in-vestment programme includes the construction of 27 vessels. Also, several auxiliary vessels are being built.

In 2009, the following vessels were delivered: The mega trailing suction hopper dredger

‘Cristóbal Cólon’, the world’s largest trailing suction hopper dredger with a hopper content of 46,000 m³;

The 1,800 m³ split hopper barge ‘Concepción’; The mega backhoe dredger ‘Postnik Yakovlev’, the

last of in all three floating excavators that were built under the investment programme.

In 2009, the turnover consisted of about 11 % for civil engineering works, of 2 % for environment-related activities and of 87 % for dredging and marine works.

The dredging and marine works can be subdivided in maintenance dredging, capital dredging, land reclama-tion, offshore and rock revetment works, made up of 11 %, 43 %, 4 %, 18 % and 3 % of the turnover respectively.

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 7

When a closer inspection of the geographical division of the order portfolio of dredging works is taken, the first thing that is noticeable is the strongly increased share of the Latin America market. The share of the Middle East market decreased to about 16 % of the total order portfolio, whereas in 2008 this amounted to 38 %. This decrease is partly due to the completion of major land reclamation projects in 2009.

Since early 2009, dredging contracts for more than € 750 million were awarded to the Jan De Nul Group on the Latin American continent. A considerable part of this work can be ascribed to the expansion and exten-sion of the works on the Argentine rivers Río Paraná and Río de la Plata, assigned in January 2010. Apart from this, the following works were awarded to the Jan De Nul Group: dredging works in the Brazilian ports Río Grande, Aratu and Salvador, work in the ports of Buenaventura (Colombia) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) and repair dredging works at the Mexican coast near the coastal towns of Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Cancún. The Jan De Nul Group was also awarded the contract for the dredging works at the Atlantic access channel of the Panama Canal (Panama).

Also in 2009, a contract was signed for increasing the export capacity of an iron ore terminal in Port Hedland (Australia) and some smaller offshore works were awarded as well.

As for civil engineering works, the order book was strengthened by the awarding of the contract for the construction of a new lock complex on the Panama Canal. After this contract was assigned, mid 2009, to a consortium, with amongst other the Jan De Nul Group, it commenced at the end of 2009 with the preparatory works. The completion is planned for the end of 2014 on the occasion of the centenary celebration of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. This ‘historic’ contract proves that the Jan De Nul Group is able to offer all its integrated expertise on a worldwide scale.

The largest environment-related work in the Jan De Nul Group portfolio is the Amoras project near the port of Antwerp (Belgium) assigned in 2008. This work entails the design, building and management of a sediment processing plant.

In 2009, the capacity utilisation1 amounted to 93.4 %, that is very nearly a status-quo compared to the record year 2008 (97.8 %). Following the completion of several projects in the Middle East, the greater part of the free dredging capacity was deployed on the Latin American continent.

The fleet efficiency2 amounted to 81 %, that is about the same as in 2008 (81.9 %). This parameter indicates how much time is lost on account of bad weather conditions, harbour traffic and small repairs

Works in Hand

Middle East 16 %

Africa 2 % Latin America 50 %

Australia 5 %

Asia 2 %

Europe 25 %

2.4. Evolution of the Dredging Market

Since 2000, the dredging market has grown at an im-pressive rate. At the end of 2008, a volume of over 10 bil lion Euro was reached compared to 4 billion at the end of 2000. Even in 2008, the year in which the credit crisis broke out, an exemplary growth rate of about 10 % was still realised.

Capacity Utilisation

84 %86 %88 %90 %92 %94 %96 %98 %

100 %

Cutter �eetHopper �eetTotal �eet

200920082007200620052004

1 Capacity utilisation: (number of hours that a ship is assigned to a project + major repairs and docking time + mobilisation + project-related idle hours) / (number of hours in a year).The CIRIA value of the ship is also included in the calculation.

2 Fleet efficiency: (number of hours during which a ship dredges/is productive) / (number of hours during which a ship is assigned to a project)

Fleet E�ciency

0 %20 %40 %60 %80 %

100 %

Cutter �eetHopper �eetTotal �eet

200920082007200620052004

8 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

SOURCE: International Association of Dredging Companies

These market volumes are divided into so-called ‘open’ and ‘closed’ markets. The closed market can be esti-mated at 3 billion Euro with North America and China as the most important shielded markets, good for about 70 % of the related volume. The share of these closed markets decreased from 42 % in 2000 to 29 % in 2008.

SOURCE: UNCTAD, Review of Maritime Transport 2009

Geographical Growth Rates 2000-200812,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

2000 2007 20080

AustraliaLatin AmericaUSIndiaAfricaAsiaChinaEuropeMiddle East

35,000

Billi

on to

nne

- mile

s

30,00025,00020,00015,00010,000

5,0000

1970

1974

1978

1982

1986

1990

1994

1998

2002

2006

2010

est

.

Crude oil Iron ore Coals

Other cargo estimates

Oil products

Grain

World Seaborne Trade 1969-2010

predict whether this revival will be sufficient to compen-sate for the ‘stagnation’ period and whether or not the existing volume will further increase in 2010 and 2011. The order portfolio of the Jan De Nul Group may be well-filled, but in view of the increased dredging capa-city the way in which the order portfolio will evolve and increase in the near future will be crucial and critical.

In this overall context, it may be useful to consider the factors or so-called ‘driving forces’ which have stimula-ted the dredging market in the last decade, i.e.

world trade; population growth and increasing urbanisation; energy demand; tourism (by cruises etc.).

World TradeMore than 90 % of global world trade is executed through international shipping. The diagram below shows the strong increase of the number of ship movements in the past, a trend that will continue in the future. The growth of global trade and the resul-ting increase of shipping traffic have an impact on the Jan De Nul Group in two ways. On the one hand, the capacity of existing harbours must be increased and completely new harbours must be built. On the other hand, the increase of transport over water results in ever bigger ships, thus necessitating in-vestments to adjust and increase existing harbour infrastructure.The Jan De Nul Group is perfectly placed to carry out both maintenance and capital dredging works, but also has the required ‘know-how’ and the spe-cialist equipment for executing integrated harbour infrastructure projects.

The share of harbour maintenance and expansion pro jects amounts to 50 % of the global dredging market.

Free Closed Total in million euro markets markets 2008

Middle East 3,035 50 3,085

Europe 1,770 40 1,810

China 80 1,515 1,595

Asia 450 455 905

Africa 600 100 700

India 435 210 645

North America 15 560 575

Latin America 525 25 550

Australia 350 10 360

TOTAL1 7,260 2,965 10,225

1 of which stone work € 1,225SOURCE: International Association of Dredging Companies

It is a recognised fact that in October 2008 the world changed drastically. The credit crisis led to a shockwave, which in turn resul-ted in a worldwide recession that was also felt in the dredging industry. 2009 showed a ‘stagnation’ period this due to the annulment or postponement of private infrastructure and real estate projects. Fortunately, this was and is compensated, to a large extent, by the conti-nuation of public investment projects.

Today, we can view the market with some optimism. The number of major contracts that is put out to tender is clearly increasing again. However, it is too early to

This growth, over the past decade, changes radically accor ding to its geographical location regions: the Middle East grew by a factor 14 and also the Chinese market increased by more than 70 %. Europe followed the average growth rate of 150 % and also Asia, Australia and Africa showed solid growth figures.

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 9

Population Growth and Increasing Urbanisation

The world population continues to grow, particularly in cities, eight out of ten cities are located in a coast-al area, representing a population of 3 billion people. The population pressure in these areas gives cause for land reclamation projects and the vulnerability of areas located near the coast asks for shore protection works. This tendency is reinforced by the steady rise of the sea level. The most recent study of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Climate Change 2007) predicts a rise of 18 to 59 cm by 2025 as compared to the level in 1990.

This ‘urbanisation’ driving force allows for € 1.8 bil-lion of the dredging market, an increase of 48 % compared to 2000. Shore protection work grew over the same period by 100 % to a volume of € 695 mil-lion.

EnergyFossil fuels remain essential for supplying our energy needs. In 2008, the volume of energy-related works was estimated at about € 2 billion, an increase of about 350 % compared to 2000. The investment programme of the Jan De Nul Group illustrates the increasing importance of the offshore oil and gas industry.

Offshore developments require the installation of pipelines and the dredging industry is responsible for excavating trenches in the seabed and for shore approaches and, after the installation of the pipe-lines, for covering these with rocks. LNG terminals combine land reclamation and harbour construction projects.

The globally increasing environmental awareness and the realisation that fossil fuels are not inex-haustible result in alternative energy projects. This also includes wind parks in the open sea. The Jan De Nul Group offers detailed designs of founda-tions for such projects and also can install the wind turbines in situ.

An economic recession combined with a lower energy price may have a decelerating effect on these strongly capital-driven markets. However, ear-ly 2010 increasing oil prices are an indication that the eco nomy is already picking up, which will make it interesting for oil and gas players to start investing again.

TourismTourist activities (water-related) are an important source of revenue in many countries: protection and improvement of beaches, construction of marinas and cruise terminals, … are only a few examples of water-related investments involving major dredging activities.

What used to be a ‘bye-product’ of shore protection has now evolved into an autonomous driving force, accounting for € 630 million in 2008.

Tourism 630

Energy 2,015

World Trade - Maintenance Dredging 1,505

ShoreProtection 695

World Trade -Capital Dredging 3,575

Urbanisation 1,805

Turnover of Overall Dredging Market, per Driver

(in millons of euro) SOURCE: International Association of Dredging Companies

And Going Forward?In the last 2 years, several markets and driving forces have been under pressure, with as the most visible example being the real estate projects in Dubai. Thanks to our well-filled order portfolio at the be-ginning of the crisis the Jan De Nul Group still real-ised a record turnover in 2009.

In early 2010, some caution is due, although it can already be observed that some markets are ‘picking up’. The strong increase of oil prices early in 2010 has already led to an increase in energy-related ten-ders. The gradual reviving of the economy promotes world trade, which in turn results in new infrastruc-ture projects. The economic evolution will tell, if and when, these works will be executed. As such there-fore, a decrease of the capacity utilisation cannot be ruled out for 2010. On the other hand, we believe strongly in the interaction and diversity of the above-explained driving forces : they all, without any exception, cover long-term needs that may be subject to cyclic decelerations but, in the long run, will not go away.

10 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

Deepening of the Western Scheldt (Holland) Trailing suction hopper dredger Alexander von Humboldt

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 11

3.1. Belgium

The Belgian dredging market is fairly stable as to turn-over and mainly entails capital and maintenance dredging works in the sea ports of Nieuwpoort, Ostend, Ghent and Zeebrugge and on the river Scheldt.

During the whole year, the trailing suction hopper dredgers ‘Alexander Von Humboldt’ (9,000 m³), ‘Manza-nillo II’ (4,000 m³) and ‘Pinta’ (3,400 m³) and the cutter suction dredgers ‘Ortelius’ (5,140 kW) and ‘Hendrik Geeraert’ (350 kW) were deployed in the Belgian market.

In the Scheldt, the river connecting the Port of Antwerp with the North Sea, the long-term capital and mainte-nance dredging programme continued together with a partner. The deepening should, amongst other advan-tages, enable the tide-independent passage of ships with a draught up to 13.10 m. These works are impor-tant to preserve the competitive position of the Antwerp Port as a major access gate to Europe. On the Belgian part of the Sea Scheldt, the deepening of the fairway was completed, reclaiming a major part of the dredged sediment onto the Left Scheldt Bank. Early in 2010, the deepening of the Dutch part of the Scheldt was also commenced. The contract for the maintenance dredging works continues up to 2013.

Also in Belgium, the maintenance contract for maintain-ing the depth of the main seaways in the North Sea and the maintenance dredging works in the sea ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend continued. This contract con-tinues up to the end of 2011.

Climate change with its related storms and rise of water levels are a challenge for the Belgian coast. About 1/3rd of the overall coastline is insufficiently protected and extremely vulnerable to damage if adequate measures are not taken in the near future. At the moment pro-

3. activity Report

12 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

A new traffic tunnel under the river Tyne in the northeast of England was started in November 2009 with the dred ging of a trench in the riverbed. After the lowering of concrete tunnel elements, the Jan De Nul Group will be responsible for ballasting and re-covering these structures. The preset completion date is early in May 2010.

In the port of Hamburg, Germany, the Jan De Nul Group executed maintenance dredging works together with a partner, dumping the dredged sediment 170 km away from the site. At the end of 2009, two campaigns had been completed. It is possible that a third campaign will be executed in the spring of 2010. Near the German town of Cuxhaven, situated on the banks of the river Elbe, in mid November 2009 the Jan De Nul Group commenced with the reclaiming of an industrial estate of 600 ha. The reclaimed sediment, about 2.5 million m³, is dredged from the river Elbe and it is anticipated that the works will be completed in the first half of 2010.

Several projects have also been executed in Spain: Work for the reconstruction of the collapsed quay wall at Muelle Prat in the port of Barcelona were continued, reclaiming the land behind the restored quay wall. In respect of the expansion of the existing container port of Valencia a trench was dredged for the construction of a protection wall. In the port of Castellón, during mid 2009, dredging and reclamation works were commen-ced in the access channel and basin, the completion is envisaged for early 2010.

posed plans are being considered by way of sand replenishment for the protection of the most vulnerable areas. As part of a long-term sustainability vision for the coast and the hinterland a number of private parties - amongst which are the Jan De Nul Group - have pro-posed an ambitious plan for the future: ‘Vlaamse Baaien 2100’ (‘Flemish Bays 2100’). This plan integrates the protection issue in a larger sustainable development project for the Belgian coast.

The Jan De Nul Group was also actively involved in the following projects:

Capital dredging works for a quay wall in the ‘Verrebroekdock’ in the Port of Antwerp;

Capital dredging works for a quay wall inthe Port of Ghent at the ‘Kluizendock’;

Maintenance dredging works in the marina of Nieuwpoort continuing up to 2012.

3.2. Rest of Europe

Early in 2009, the Jan De Nul Group started, together with a partner, with sand replenishment works near Westkapelle and Nieuwe Sluis in the estuary region of the Western Scheldt (Holland). This project involved reducing the gradient of the bank in order to improve its stability by moving in sand below the water line. In all, over 10 million m³ of sand were dredged from the sea and deposited alongside the bank - the works were completed at the end of 2009.

Trailing suction hopper dredger Cristóbal Colón at work in Cuxhaven (Germany)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 13

3.3. Latin America

The order portfolio clearly shows that the Latin American market is becoming increasingly important.

In Argentina, the existing long-term concession contract for the rivers Río Paraná and Río de la Plata was expanded and extended by about 8 years up to 2021. In 1995, the Jan De Nul Group and its Argentine partner were awar-ded this concession. Together, they are responsible for the maintenance of the channel and for the signalling on the rivers Río Paraná and Río de la Plata between Santa Fe and the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of over 800 km. This concession is unique in the sense that a private com pany is responsible for maintaining the navigation depth and for collecting tollage from vessels using the channel. The concession contract was extended a first time up to 2013. The maintenance of the channel requi-res the deployment of 3 to 4 trailing suction hopper dredgers, various survey vessels and vessels for main-taining the signalling system.

The extending of the contract up to 2021 also entails the deepening of the section between the Atlantic Ocean and Santa Fe to -8.5 m. The capital dredging works will take about 2 years and will require the deployment of 2 additional dredging vessels. The con-tract also provided for a new section, namely between Santa Fe and Corrientes, over a length of 500 km. In this section, the channel will be maintained up to a depth of -3.6 m and the signalling will be improved to enable traffic of push-towing convoys for the whole year round.

Also in Argentina, the Jan De Nul Group were awarded a contract for widening and deepening the swing basin and channel in the inner port of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s big gest container port. A first phase has already been completed with the completion of the second phase being planned for 2010.

In 2007, the Brazilian government announced a natio-nal dredging programme for Brazilian ports. This in-vestment programme should improve the competitive status of Brazilian ports. In 2009, two contracts were awarded to the Jan De Nul Group within the scope of this investment programme. The first project is the dredging of 19 million m³ in the 24 km long channel of Río Grande, one of Brazilian’s most important ports. This contract is being executed in two phases - in the first phase, the channel is deepened to maximum -18 m and in the second phase maintenance dredging works will be carried out for a period of two years. The works commenced in July 2009. The second project concerns capital dredging works in the ports of Aratu and Salvador, situated in the pro-vince of Bahia. These works include the widening and deepening of the access channel and swing basin of both ports. In Salvador, part of the dredged material will be used for reclaiming land. The starting date of the works is set for April 2010 with the works envisaged to end in 2010.

Capital and maintenance dredging works in the port of Manzanillo (Mexico)

14 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

In Mexico, the Jan De Nul Group was awarded the beach replenishment contract for the eroded shorelines of the popular seaside towns of Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. In all, 6 million m³ of sand was replenished and 2 underwater breakwaters were instal-led. The latter should prevent any further erosion of these beaches. The works started at the end of 2009 and will take 5 months to complete.

Also an important contract was assigned for dredging an access channel and swing basin for a new container terminal in Buenaventura, Colombia. In all 5.3 million m³ will be dredged. The works started in the summer of 2009 and will be completed at the end of 2010.

The presence of the Jan De Nul Group in the Panama-nian market was strengthened by two new contracts. Both these works are part of the investment programme for the widening of the Panama Canal. This widening is of vital importance for Panama because in 2007 only 57 % of the worlds container ships could pass through the canal. A widening is therefore absolutely necessary if the canal wishes to cater for the ever increasing size of vessels. Next to the construction of 2 new lock com-plexes, assigned mid 2009 to a consortium including the Jan De Nul Group, the existing channels will be widened and extended. The Jan De Nul Group also obtained the contract for dredging works at the Atlantic access channel of the Panama canal (Panama). This project entails the dredging of 17 million m³ and the dry excavation of 800,000 m³ of material. The works started at the end of 2009 and will take 2 years to complete.

Other important projects in progress are:

Five-year maintenance contract for the access channel and berths in the port of Bahia Blanca, Argentina (up to 2010)

Maintenance dredging works in the port of Quequén, Argentina.

Deepening of access channel, swing basin and berths in the port of Aracruz, Brazil. The works were completed at the end of 2009.

Maintenance dredging works in the port ofTumaco, Columbia.

Completion of the dredging works for the first phase of a new terminal project in Puerto Cortes, Honduras

The capital and maintenance dredging works in the ports of Ensenada en Mazatlán, Mexico, were completed. The works in the port of Manzanillo will be completed early in 2010.

Completion of the capital and maintenance dredging works in the access channel and turning circle in the port of Veracruz, Mexico.

Marine works for a new LNG-terminal in the port of Pampa Melchorita, Peru. At the end of 2009, these works were almost completed.

Dredging of about 5 million m³, of which 600,000 m³ were of polluted material, for a new terminal in the port of Santos, Brazil. The start of the works is planned for the second half of 2010.

Dredging works for a container terminal in Callao, Peru. These works commenced in April 2008.

Capital dredging and land reclamation works in the port of Galeota, Trinidad & Tobago. These works commenced in August 2009 and will take 1 year to complete.

Capital and Maintenance Dredging Works in Río Grande (Brazil)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 15

‘Our long-term presence in South America is now bearing fruit’‘South America’s share, in percentage of the total dred-ging turnover, of the Jan De Nul Group increased in 2009 by 50 % : from 8 % in 2008 to 12 %. This is a significant result that could only be achieved because, even when there was plenty of work in other regions, Jan De Nul never neglected its market in South America. The Jan De Nul Group has been active in Latin America since the early nineties of the previous century. In 2009, the biggest challenge to the Group was extending and widening our operational base. After long negotiations we were able to extend our concession in Argentina for the mainte nance of the rivers Río de la Plata and Río Paraná up to 2021. This is a basis which makes it easier to become active in the surrounding areas: the south of Brazil, Peru and Colom bia. In this way, three projects in Brazil were obtai-ned: two projects within the scope of the strategic PAC-programme of the Brazilian government (to strengthen the competitiveness of its ports) and a third project for which the financing must still be arranged. The Jan De Nul Group also completed some major projects in 2009, including the LNG-terminal in Peru and the works in Manzanillo, Mexico.’

LocaL partnerships‘Without a local partner, working in South America remains difficult. Most countries are gradually opening up to the global market but the South American market is still a relatively closed one. For instance, until recently contrac-tors in Brazil could only submit tenders when deploying Brazilian vessels and in most South American countries vessels that sail under the flag of that country are given priority. As a contractor, it should be known how the system operates – the Jan De Nul Group has one vessel under Argentine flag – or enter into partnerships with local companies. For dredging works in South America, it is now noticeable that China is becoming a major compe-ti tor with its financing of large-scale projects in export harbours for raw materials and minerals and, all too often at low prices. However, as to technical expertise and coordination, China is still far below the European level and standard.’

six ‘Berendrecht Locks’ in panama‘With the ‘lock project’ in Panama, the civil engineering department of the Jan De Nul Group is writing a new story. In the Belgian civil engineering market, many companies are being consolidated or taken over. To pre-serve our competitive position as a top performer in the civil engineering market, it was felt for the need to widen our horizon and go international. For the Jan De Nul Group, Panama is a prestigious project with international appeal. Since August 2009, six new locks are being con-structed comparable with the Berendrecht lock that was

executed by us in the port of Antwerp some thirty years ago. It is mainly the huge scope that makes the project in Panama so complex. The six locks, three along the Atlantic Ocean and three along the Pacific, in all require 5 million m3 of concrete, 40 million m3 of dry earthwork, 50,000 tonnes of steel doors and wall panels and no less than 6,000 to 7,000 workers. Therefore the challenge is not only in the technical complexity, but most of all in the deployment of the vast amount of equipment and workers. What’s more, the deadline – the project will take up 52 calendar months – is sacrosanct to the Client. The first lock on the Panama Canal was placed into service in October 1914, the new locks must open exactly one hundred years later. The Jan De Nul Group is convinced that it will be able to achieve this strict deadline. The con tract was gained thanks to a number of creative and innovative solutions, amongst which the choice not to have the concrete ‘imported’ to the site but to produce it in-situ from excavated/quarried rocks that are crushed into granulates and sand. As well as this solid technical case, the Jan De Nul Group was also able to offer a good price.’

overaLL package‘Today, clients are more and more in need of contractors who can offer to be multifunctional i.e. to include: an overall package of dredging, civil engineering and environmental activities. Within the Jan De Nul Group, it was realised some years ago that there was a future when it concerned civil engineering and environment-related projects. Projects such as Manifa in Saudi Arabia already follow on that trend, with a combination of dredging works, the construction of platforms and rock revetment works. Also Panama, for 3 % dredging works and for 97 % an infrastructural project, offers a challenge in this regard. The ambition is to take on more and more integrated projects in the future. Thanks to our dredging projects, the Jan De Nul Group is already active in forty countries, so the local clients and engineering offices are well known. In this regard, overall packages allow competitive prices to be offered because work with external civil engineering subcontractors is not required. For the sake of history, it makes the circle complete because once, a long time ago, the Jan De Nul Group started as a civil engineering contractor.’

AlAn lievens - Area Director South AmericaDirk vAn rompAey - Head of the Civil Engineering Department

16 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

3.4. Africa

In the port of Douala, Cameroon capital dredging works were commenced. Douala is one of the main industrial centres on the east coast of Africa and accounts for 95 % of all the maritime traffic of Cameroon. The port is situa ted on the banks of the sediment-rich river Wouri, which, in turn, leads to significant siltation within the port. As the tonnage and draught of vessels in international shipping are increasing, this necessitated the deepening of the access channel to the port. At this time, the depth of the port is dredged to -8 m, which depth will be maintained by carrying out maintenance dredging works over the next four years. These works are co-financed through a Bel-gian state-to-state loan and commercial export credits.

Early in 2009, the work for a new LNG export terminal near Soyo, Angola, was completed. As a partner in a joint venture, the Jan De Nul Group was responsible for dredging a 4 km long access channel and a swinging basin. For the construction of the new terminal, located at the estuary of the Congo river, 70 ha of land was reclaimed from the sea and 150 ha of land was raised.

The capital dredging works for the access channel to the port of Ambriz, Angola, planned for the spring of 2009, were delayed to the end of 2010.

In 2009, the remediation and beach replenishment works for a polluted beach in Sfax, Tunisia continued. This project entails the excavation of 2 million m³ of polluted material ashore and the dredging of 0.5 mil-lion m³ of material at sea. The excavated beach was replenished using 6.8 million m³ of sand and will be further deve loped as tourist and residential areas. The major part of the works were completed in 2008. In 2009, only the pumping system was installed in the encapsulated depot in which the polluted soil is stored. The final completion of the work is planned for 2010.

The prospects for the African market remain positive for future years, but due to the economic crisis some pro jects may well be postponed. Most projects are part of investments in port infrastructure for exporting the many raw materials found on the African conti-nent. Due to the worldwide economic crisis the de-mand for raw materials declined considerably, but ex-pectations are that this situation may well soon recover when the world economy starts ‘picking up’ again.

Remediation and replenishment of a heavily polluted beach – Sfax (Tunisia)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 17

of 2009, a first phase of 4 million m³ was completed. The second phase of 5.5 million m³ is required to be com-pleted by early in 2011.

The following projects were also executed:

Extension of the container port of Sydney, i.e. Port Botany, with a 1.8km long quay wall and the reclamation of 9 million m³ of sand. In all, about 62 hectares will be gained from the sea. In 2009, the trench for the foundation of the quay wall was dredged and the reclamation works were commenced.

Dredging of a 5km long access channel and harbour basin for a new nickel exporting harbour in New Caledonia. At the end of 2009, 7 million m³ of sand had already been dredged. The comple-tion of these works is planned for April 2010.

In the near future, a number of other important projects are due to be executed. Several tenders for port expan-sions or for developing new export infrastructure are in the process of being prepared. All these new projects are related to the export of primary raw materials.

3.5. Australia

As with the American continent, most projects in Australia fit within the again increasing demand for raw materials.

In the harbour of Port Hedland, two contracts were exe-cuted by an order from a large mining company. Iron ore is delivered from the inland mines, through many kilometres of railway lines, and is exported via this port. The situation now requires expanding the existing ex-port capacity to accommodate new needs.

The first project in Port Hedland consisted of dredging works for a new mooring position with connected access channel and swing basin. Using a cutter suction dred-ger, about 3.5 million tonnes of hard material were re-moved. These works were completed at the end of 2009.In about the same period, the Jan De Nul Group started the dredging of four new berthing positions with connec-ting access channels for another mining group. The big-gest challenge of this project is observing the very strict environmental protection requirements. In order to meet these stringent requirements, the dredged material is first pumped into a settling basin about 5 km away before the waste water is finally discharged. At the end

Extension of Port Botany - Sydney (Australia)

18 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

3.7. Middle East

2009 revealed itself as a difficult year for the dredging industry in the Middle East. For many years, the land recla mation projects in Dubai were a major part of for the total dredging market. However, due to the world-wide economic crisis, these projects came to an abrupt halt. Dubai’s expansion and diversification policy with pro jects such as the Dubai Waterfront and Palm Jebel Ali, which had put the Emirate on the global map, came under pressure. The result was that most land reclamation projects were adjusted and that work was suspended.

The impact of the crisis on the Jan De Nul Group be-came relatively limited as, when the crisis broke out, three out of the four land reclamation projects in which the Jan De Nul Group was involved, were already in their final phases. Palm Jebel Ali, the largest of the two Palm Islands, was as good as completed. Almost all sand (220 million m³) had been reclaimed and all rock revetment works had been executed. The New Island Development project, a crescent-shaped island 50 km off the coast of Dubai, was fully completed at the end of August 2009.Palm Cove Canal, the onshore part of the Dubai Water-front, was also completed. Here, 10 million m³ of dry material was excavated and 12 km of quay walls were constructed along the docks of the inland canal.

3.6. Southeast Asia

As well as the land reclamation projects in Singapore, the Jan De Nul Group executed several other projects in Southeast Asia in 2009.

In Taiwan, three projects were executed with the trailing suction hopper dredger ‘Taccola’. In the port of Taichung, situated on the west coast of Taiwan, the access channel of the port was again brought to its required depth. Subsequently, the dredged sedi-ment was reclaimed for creating a new industrial site at the rear of the port. Further to the north, in the port of Taipei, works for a new container terminal were executed. Here, the access chan-nel and harbour basin of the new terminal had to be deepened. The dredged material was reused for the con-struction of new industrial sites alongside the harbour.The Jan De Nul Group also deepened the swinging ba-sin in the port of Kaoshiung. A new industrial site adja-cent to the port was created with the reclaimed dredged materials.All above-mentioned works had a completion time of about 2 months.

In Malaysia, land reclamation works were executed for the construction of a new harbour, located at 1.5 km from the port of Tanjung Pelepas. The material to be reused for reclaiming land, about 400,000 m³, was transported over a distance of 150 km. The execution period of this project amounted to 1 month.

Capital dredging works in the port of Taichung (Taiwan)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 19

Only the Dubai Waterfront project was suspended be-fore it was completed. This project should have resulted in a series of seven islands in the shape of a scorpion’s tail, situated around Palm Jebel Ali, with an estimated volume of 350 million m³ to be reclaimed. At the present time, only one island has been partially completed and the rock contours for a second have been executed.

Still, the perception of the economic activities in the Middle East as created by this crisis shouldn’t be con si-de red to be totally negative.On the contrary other countries and their projects have been affected much less by the crisis. In any case, the other projects in the region, except for the land reclama-tion project at Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, are for the greater part energy- and infrastructure-related works. The oil price, rising again since the second half of 2009, supports the feasibility of these projects.

It is also noteworthy that the tender level in 2009 was at the same level as in previous years. However, in fact the number of works that were actually assigned, was lower because clients became much more cautious before gi-ving their final approval to go ahead with a major project.

In Qatar, the works for the expansion of the port of Ras Laffan were completed. This port is now the biggest LNG port in the world and upholds Qatar’s position as the world’s major LNG exporter. Together with a partner, the Jan De Nul Group was responsible for the construction of several breakwaters with a total length of 21 km. The following materials were needed: 30 million tonnes of local rocks, 9 million tonnes of rock delivered from over-seas and about 1 million tonnes of concrete which was mainly used for the production of 240,000 concrete blocks to complete this project. About 24 million m³ of hard limestone and 29 million m³ of sand were also dredged.

Early in 2010, the contract for deepening the port of Umm Qasr, Iraq, was signed. This port is Iraq’s gateway to the Persian Gulf and a lifeline for the import of gene-ral cargo and bulk goods into the country. This ‘silted up’ port has to be deepened to -12.5 m. with the works anticipated to commence in April 2010.

The Jan De Nul Group also executed the following projects:

The construction of a mooring quay and the deepe-ning of the access channel for the Gabbro Berth project in Mesaieed, Qatar. The dredging works, in extremely hard soil, requires the use of the powerful cutter suction dredger J.F.J. De Nul. Completion of the works is planned for mid 2010.

The widening of the access channel up to the berths of Qafco in the port of Mesaieed, Qatar (completed).

Dredging and reclamation works for a new port complex in Duqm, Oman. The Jan De Nul Group is responsible for dredging 68 million m³ of sand, of which about a third will be reused for land recla-mation behind the quay walls. At the end of 2009, 50 % of the dredging works had already been com-pleted and about 7 million m³ of sand had been reclaimed behind the quay walls. The completion of the works is planned for mid 2012.

Land reclamation project Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi (U.A.E.)

20 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

is used, amongst other uses, to stimulate the produc-tion of oil by injecting water into the oilfield. The islands are interlinked and connected through 41 km of roads, 5 bridges of 180 m long, 8 bridges of 90 m long and a bridge of 2.4 km being the connection to the mainland. The Jan De Nul Group is the main contractor and is res-ponsible for all dredging and reclamation works, rock revetment works included. The civil engineering works were sub-contracted. In all, 44.5 million m³ of sand will be reclaimed, protection made against erosion by the construction of 115 km of rock revetment. About 12 mil-lion tonnes of rock will be transported to the Manifa site. Every day, 600 trucks and trailers are unloaded, after which the rocks are graded and stored according to size and quality. In order to secure the required amount of stones, stone quarries are utilised, some-times up to 500 km away from the site.

One of the major challenges of the Manifa project is the enormous expanse of the working area, covering no less than 80 km². The logistic coordination and the transport over land and water of building materials, equipment, fuel, crew and staff, food and beverages,

3.8. Offshore Services

The increasing significance of the offshore market is reflected in the investment programme 2007-2011 of the Jan De Nul Group. The specific requirements of the offshore industry require for the deployment of specia-lised high-tech equipment. Under the investment pro-gramme, the following vessels, amongst others, were built: two trailing suction hopper dredgers with equip-ment for dredging up to a water depth of -155 m (the ‘Cristóbal Cólon’ and the ‘Leiv Eiriksson’, which is still under construction), four cutter suction dredgers for dredging hard rock (‘Ibn Battuta’, ‘Zheng He’, ‘Fernão de Magalhães’ and ‘Niccolò Machiavelli’, all 4 still under construction), the dynamically positioned side stone dumping vessel ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ and a fall pipe vessel for high-precision rock dumping up to a depth of 2,000 m (‘Simon Stevin’). All these vessels are particu-larly suited for deployment in offshore projects.

The biggest offshore project undertaken during the past few years is the Manifa Field Causeway and Island project in Saudi Arabia. The Manifa oilfield is situated in the Persian Gulf and will be exploited from 25 reclaimed islands and 2 islands for water injection. Water injection

Manifa Field Causeway and Island project - Manifa (Saudi Arabia)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 21

In the bay of Arzew, Algeria, a new gas export harbour is being built. The Jan De Nul Group is responsible for levelling the seabed and for creating a rock foundation. On this foundation, large caissons will be placed that are ballasted with sand. A long row of caissons will form a breakwater and protect the harbour basin. The Jan De Nul Group must also cover two existing pipelines with rocks. These rock protection works are carried out using the fall pipe vessel ‘La Boudeuse’, which is equipped with a dynamic positioning system. The works started in Octo-ber 2009 and will be completed at the end of 2010.

In Algeria, the Jan De Nul Group were also awarded a contract for dredging a trench in hard rock soil. After the pipelines for the water supply to a power station were installed by the client, the trench had to be backfilled. The works were completed in 2009.

In the North Sea a trailing suction hopper dred-ger was utilised to dredge off the tops of a series of underwater dunes to create a flat sea bed for the installation of a new pipeline.

At the east coast of Sakhalin, Russia, the washed away foundations of a pipeline were restored using the fall pipe vessel ‘La Boudeuse’.

Off the coast of Iran, a number of trenches were dredged for the installation of pipelines connec-ting the South Pars / North Dome gas field with the mainland.

For the development of the Pluto LNG project, off the coast of Australia, the Jan De Nul Group was responsible for backfilling a number of pipe-lines. In 2010, the ‘Simon Stevin’ will be deployed for this same project for restoring the foundation of the pipeline by dumping rocks at a depth of 80 metres.

The following project was also completed in 2009:

Dredging of a shore approach for pipelines near Ras Laffan, Qatar. After the dredging of the shore approach, this was backfilled by installing a rock bench up to 12 km offshore.

etc. is a massive challenge for all involved with a project of this size.

During peak periods, the Jan De Nul Group and its sub-contractors employed a workforce of more than 3,000. Close to the working area, the Jan De Nul Group built the Manifa Habitat with residential accommodation for more than 2,000 persons. In no time, a whole village was built amidst this desolate desert landscape, complete with sports and leisure facilities, water storage tanks, a water treatment plant for purifying waste water and fully equipped kitchens with a capacity of 6,000 cooked meals per day.

More than 95 % of the project has been completed. In November, the first oil drillings were started by the client. The final completion of the works is planned for March 2010.

In 2009, several offshore projects were obtained with the common features of these being the relatively short dura tion of the works, the need for high-tech equipment and the link with the oil and gas industry.

22 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

The capacity of this plant will be increased equivalent to provide for a 20,000 population through the construc-tion of an extra aeration and settling basin and a storage site for dried sediment. With the gas developed during the fermentation of the sediment electricity will be gene-rated. The preset completion date is November 2010.

One of the biggest projects in the Belgian civil enginee-ring branch is the railway tunnel Schuman-Josaphat in Brussels. This contract is part of the extension of the rail-way network in the Brussels area and includes the con-struc tion of a 1.25 km long railway tunnel connecting two existing railway lines. The works were started in mid 2008 and the railway tunnel must be operational during 2013.

As well as constructing many projects, the Jan De Nul Group has also acquired comprehensive expertise in Public Private Partnerships (PPP). With these PPP con-structions, public authorities and private companies work together for the execution of investment projects to realise a solution that not only aims at cost-efficiency, but focuses above all on the price/quality parameter.

In 2009, the Jan De Nul Group made an offer for two DBFM-projects (Design Build Finance & Maintain) put out to tender by the Flemish public transport company ‘De Lijn’: Spartacus and Pegasus.

3.9. Civil Engineering

Over the years, the Jan De Nul Group has carried out an impressive list of major, important projects in the field of civil engineering works, both in Belgium and abroad. In 2009, the following important projects were executed in the various fields of civil engineering and infrastruc-ture:

Water treatment plants (amongst others inBasse-Wavre, Essen, Thuin and Mornimont);

Collector works (amongst others in Antwerp, Virton, Court-St-Etienne and Seraing);

Bridges (in Aalst, Lummen,Libramont and Welkenraedt);

Quay walls (in Kortrijk and Verrebroek); Earthworks (amongst others in Gaurain

Charleroi and Lummen); Road construction works (amongst

others the cloverleaf in Lummen); Buildings (amongst others in Herent, Hoeilaart,

Tielrode, Zele, Tielt, St-Pieters-Leeuw, Berlare, Lodelinsart and Velzeke);

Hydraulic engineering works and locks(in Kruibeke and Waterloo);

Tunnel works (in Brussels).

In the Walloon region, several water treatment projects have been executed. At the end of 2008, the expansion of the water treatment plant of Basse-Wavre was started.

Railway link Schuman-Josaphat – Brussels (Belgium)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 23

‘Our structure lends itself perfectly for PPP projects’

‘PPP (Public Private Partnership) is a new form of contract through which the public authority assigns more tasks and risks to the private sector compared to traditional public con-tracts. Since the famous Oosterweel link, public authorities are increasingly using these types of contract to market major infrastructure projects. Today, three such PPP contracts are in the execution phase: the Diabolo railway project in Zaventem, the Liefkenshoek railway link in Antwerp and the tram line extension Brabo I in Antwerp. These projects were assigned to foreign companies that had many years of experience with such PPP projects in their own country (where these types of contract have already existed much longer). The Jan De Nul Group tendered for the first two projects and learnt from this experience. However at this time the Jan De Nul Group is a major candidate for two road infrastructure projects within the scope of the Flemish ‘mis-sing links’ roadworks: the R4 South in Ghent and the north-south link in the Kempen. More importantly, the Jan De Nul Group has been nominated as the preferential bidder for the contract of the north-south link in the Kempen. ‘

spreading of the Budget‘For public authorities, working with private parties has be-come a ‘must’ situation. The Belgian infrastructure – vital for Flanders as a region strongly focussing on logistics – must be renewed or adapted and both the federal and regional govern ments are hard-pressed in this quest. With a PPP pro-ject, the financing of the construction works, amongst other things, becomes the responsibility of the private sector. After the letting of the project, the public authority can repay the invested amount through so-called ‘availability fees’ over a long period of say 25 to 30 years. This can be compared with a private person entering into a loan agreement for the pur-chasing of a house. The bank (partly) finances the purchase and the private person repays the bank a monthly sum of money until the debt is fully paid off. In this way, public autho-rities can ‘spread’ the payment for construction works over many years and therefore current budgetary restrictions need not be an obstacle for making investments. ‘

design & BuiLd‘The difference with conventional public contracts is the ‘aty-pical’ risk spreading. A public contract is above all a technical matter: the contractor draws up his offer based on the speci-fications, drawings, bill of quantities etc. prepared by the public authority and is then responsible for completing the construction within an agreed period. A PPP goes far beyond this basic principle. The public authority not only assigns the construction, but also the design, maintenance and financing to the private sector within its set requirements. In this way, the contractor forsakes a number of protection mechanisms that are associated with a ‘conventional’ public contract. How ever, in reality, the PPP formula may vary according to the specific project. This Design & Build approach may

increase the contractor’s risks, but it also gives the latter the opportunity to start a project from its inception and have a say in the design and budget elements. This is a challenge the Jan De Nul Group is more than pleased to take on.Due to the family’s tradition to reinvest all of its profit in the company (and not to distribute it), the Jan De Nul Group is obviously in a very strong financial position. A high solvency and liquidity are very important for this type of project be-cause the contractor is responsible for their financing, partially from its own capital, but for the greater part using borrowed capital or bank loans. For clients, financiers and banks the financial strength of the contractor is of the utmost importance in executing this type of project. Also the Jan De Nul Group’s organisational structure lends itself perfectly for PPP projects. As well as the department which will actually carry out the works, the Jan De Nul Group also has comprehensive finan-cial, legal and design teams that are important assets for being involved in this type of project. Obviously, some aspects of PPP are so specific that external advisors must be engaged for the necessary additional and specific expertise they can provide. As a result all risks involved must be evaluated and as such all aspects must be covered, up to the minutest detail, in the tender phase.’

WeaLth of experience‘The procedure of a PPP tender may take years to become into being - precisely because of the atypical risk division. After the first qualification procedure (PQ), contractors must submit a first qualitative tender, followed by a second tender with additional financial information and, then finally, their BAFO (best and final offer). During this procedure, the private contractor and the public authority may also negotiate on the contract and the risk division. This makes the procedure very time- and labour-intensive and consuming.Apart from a number of qualitative assessment criteria, the price, obviously, remains a very decisive factor. In recent tenders, the Jan De Nul Group is performing very well: for the realisation of the R4 project we are among the last two candidates and, as indicated earlier, we were recently made the preferential bidder for the north-south link in the Kempen. On the latter project, we have been working hard for two years now, with a price envisaged as being over 2 million Euro - a big investment. However this could also be a source of revenue in the short and long terms and a wealth of new experience for the company that in future might come as extremely useful for PPP projects abroad.’

Bruno vAn Den eeDe - Financial DepartmentJo roelAnts - Civil Engineering Department

24 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

DBFM is a PPP con struc tion in which the private con-tractor not only designs and builds the infrastructure according to the specifications required by the public authority, but is also responsible for the projects financ-ing and maintenance. The public authority’s role is lim-ited to defining the final requirement. The Spartacus project aims to improve the quality of public transport in the province of Limburg by creating a network of fast links between its cities. The project includes an express tram line between Hasselt and Lanaken. The Pegasus plan, is to construct a tram net-work in and around Antwerp.

Two of the largest road infrastructure projects which in 2010 will probably be assigned by way of a DBFM con-tract are the north-south link Kempen and the R4-South in Ghent. For both projects, the Jan De Nul Group is one of two remaining candidates.

For civil engineering projects the Jan De Nul Group is focussing increasingly on the international market. This is confirmed by the awarding of one of the world’s lar-gest and most prestigious infrastructural works, namely the construction of the new lock complex on the Panama Canal.The consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal, which the Jan De Nul Group is part of, not only submitted the best tender price but also the best technical solution for the execution of the works. The works entail the con-struction of two lock complexes, one on the Atlantic Ocean side and another on the Pacific Ocean side. This is to enable large ships to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal. After the works, the vessel capacity of the Panama Canal will be increased by about 50 %.A workforce of about 6,000 will work on the project, which will be completed by the end of 2014 - 100 years after the opening of the original Panama Canal.

Apart from the mega project in Panama, the Jan De Nul Group also completed other international civil enginee-ring works in Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Croatia in 2009.

Palm Cove Canal – Dubai (U.A.E.)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 25

3.10. Environmental Works

Envisan, the Environment Division of the Jan De Nul Group, continues to be active in harbour-related environ-mental projects, site remediation projects and the pro-cessing of special waste substances.

Harbour-related Environmental ProjectsIn 2009, Envisan strengthened its position in traditional harbour-related markets such as sediment treatment and the remediation of heavily polluted industrial sites.

The Amoras project in the Port of Antwerp Envisan is a pioneer in state-of-the-art sediment treatment. A con-sortium in which Envisan has a leading part, is respon-sible for the design, building and management of the sediment processing plant in the Port of Antwerp. The Amoras project provides for sufficient processing and storage capacity for all sediments dredged in the Port of Antwerp on a yearly basis. After having completed the design phase in 2008, the construction of the pro ces-sing plant was commenced in 2009. The completion of the construction works is planned for September 2010, after which a test phase of 6 months will commence. On 31 March 2011, the actual management phase will start, which will last until 31 March 2026. The amount of sedi-ment resulting from the maintenance dredging works in the port, that will be processed and stored there, is as-sessed as being 500,000 tonnes of dry material per year.

Not only for harbours, but also for rivers, solutions for processing and storing polluted sediments are absolu-tely necessary. The European ‘Water’ Framework Direc-

tive will in the following years stimulate the cleaning and clearing of polluted rivers. In this respect, Envisan deli-berately has chosen for a long-term strategy with the development and construction of a floating mobile sedi-ment dewatering plant. The onset for these investments was the signing of contracts for the dredging and pro-ces sing polluted sediments from Walloon rivers (Bel-gium). The amount of sediment to be processed and stored is estimated as being 70,000 tonnes of dry mate-rial per year. This project is executed in cooperation with several partners. It has a term of one year and can be extended three times by one year.

This development trend has also reached the south of Europe, where port authorities are actively looking for sustainable solutions for the application to dredged pol-luted sediments. Envisan works together with local part-ners and offers solutions that are adjusted and direc ted to the specific local needs and circumstances.

Site Remediation ProjectsIn 2009, Envisan continued its work on some of the lar gest soil remediation projects in Belgium. After the clo sing down of the three Carcoke sites in the nineties, heavily polluted sites were left behind and as a result it was then later decided to remediate and redevelop these sites. Envisan is involved in two of three of such projects.

After the remediation of the ‘tar dumps’ on the site in Zeebrugge, Envisan proceeded in 2009, together with several partners, with the remediation of the ‘oven’ site,

Sediment Treatment Amoras - Antwerp (Belgium)

26 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

the ‘compression’ station and the ‘storage’ area. Envi san also has constructed two water treatment plants that purify the groundwater which has been polluted with cyanide.

On the Carcoke site in Brussels, Envisan completed the bulk of the main excavation works in 2009. About 120,000 tonnes of heavily polluted soil was transported per vessel for further processing and the site was replenished to enable it to proceed with the construction of the above-ground infrastructure. Preparatory work was also com-men ced for the groundwater remediation. The reme dia-tion of the groundwater of this seriously polluted site will continue up to 2022.

Processing of Special Waste SubstancesEnvisan not only invests in Western Europe but also in Eastern Europe where new technologies are being advanced.

The inclusion of Rumania into the European Union has created the necessity to process waste substances in

accordance with European legislation. Envisan has inves ted in this emerging environmental market with the development and construction of a processing plant in Rumania for the processing of some 200,000 m³ of oil-bearing waste substances. These waste substan ces, ensueing from an oil refinery, are now being stored in open basins and without treatment would become a burden on local fauna and flora. The steam released during processing will be converted into electricity that, in turn, will be used for the processing plant. The com-mis sioning of the plant is planned for the second half of 2010.

ProspectsSpurred on by the World Trade Organisation, the envi-ron mental awareness in a number of growth countries is being reflected in new local legislation and in the setting up of active environment administrations. Envisan there-fore envisages that it will be able to further develop its activities within the markets of the Jan De Nul Group, amongst which are Central and South America. World-wide, the demand for environment-related works and

Treatment of Oil-Bearing Sludge Arpechim – Pitesti (Rumania)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 27

technology is increasing, whereas the existing technical capacity is not expanded at the same pace. Therefore, it can be expected that, in following years, new markets will arise. It is Envisan’s ambition to apply its environ-mental technology and expertise in these new markets and regions where the environmental industry is still in its infancy.

In 2009, three soil and sediment remediation centres of the Jan De Nul Group on the one hand, processed dredged and cleared sediments from waterways and on the other stored and/or treated excavated materials.

About 100,000 tonnes of polluted dredged material was processed through mechanical dewatering and lagooning. About 65,000 tonnes of this amount was from dredging works in the Ghent-Terneuzen canal and the port of Brussels. Part of the processed material was converted into ‘building material’.

Through mainly biological treatment another 80,000 m³ of polluted dredged materials were duly processed.

‘Ever increasing demandfor sustainable solutions for dredge spoil’With the Amoras project in the Port of Antwerp, for the first time in Flanders (maybe even in Europe or world-wide) a new solution for dredge spoil was introduced: chamber filter presses. In countries with much more space, dredged sediments are dumped or dewatered in a natural way by the sun and wind in lagoons. But Flanders doesn’t have that space. In the port of Antwerp no less than 120 hectare of useful surface area would go ‘begging’ for such natural dewatering. That is why Envisan – since 1996 the Environment Division of the Jan De Nul Group - launched an innovative technical variant on this lagooning process. With chamber filter presses the wet dredged sediment is pressed together with 30 % of dry substance in cloth material inbetween large plates to obtain spoil with 60 to 70 % of a dry substance. This is ideal for saving storage space in a project such as Amoras, which every year generates more than 20 mil-lion m³ of wet sediment.

Today, Envisan is utilising its experience with dredged materials in Flanders. Since dumping waste in open sea is forbidden, the demand for sustainable solutions for storing sediments is increasing. Projects for the treat-ment of dredged sediments are planned amongst others in Dunkirk and Toulon in France and also in Italy. To relieve the pressure caused by the economic crisis, Envisan can also diversify into countries in Central and Eastern Europe and expand its activities from conven-tional soil and groundwater treatment to the treatment of special waste substances such as oil- and metal-bearing sludge. This specialised market requires high investments and complex techniques and, as a result, has only little competition. In Rumania, Envisan is buil-ding a special installation worth 12 million Euro and in Saudi Arabia it is competing for the remediation of 150,000 m³ of oil-bearing sludge. In Kuwait, Envisan is among the top candidates for clearing the consequences of the Gulf War. The price estimate for the treatment of such sludge is considerable, but now that more and more countries are also investing in tourism and nature conservation, Envison can fulfil its role as a geographic pioneer in optimal conditions.‘

Geert iDe - Head of Envisan, the Environment Division of JDN Group

28 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

Trailing suction hopper dredger Leiv Eiriksson launched in Bilbao (Spain)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 29

4.1. Completed VesselsAn important milestone within the investment pro-gramme was the delivery of the ‘Cristóbal Colón’ on 25 June 2009. This 46,000 m³ trailing suction hopper dredger, by far the biggest in the world, immediately sailed to Duqm in Oman for its first assignment. Early in 2010, the new flagship of the group will be joined by its sister ship, the ‘Leiv Eiriksson’. These two ships form, together with the 33,000 m3 ‘Vasco da Gama’ and the 30,500 m3 ‘Charles Darwin’, a formidable fleet, perfectly suited for executing land reclamation projects in an economically feasible way.

On 13 March 2009, the fall pipe and mining vessel ‘Simon Stevin’ was launched at the shipyard La Naval in Bilbao. Later, a module of 2,000 tonnes was placed on board using the heavy lift vessel ‘Rambiz’. This module, developed by the Jan De Nul Group, contains an instal-lation that builds up the fall pipe fully automatically and, after the dumping, also disassembles it again. In the second half of 2009, this module and the vessel were made ready to sail and test. Early in 2010, the ‘Simon Stevin’ was completed and placed into service. At the shipyard La Naval, the 46,000 m³ trailing suction hopper dredger ‘Leiv Eiriksson’, which was launched on 4 September 2009, is now being completed. At the same time, the 30,500 m³ trailing suction hopper dredger ‘Charles Darwin’ is being built at the same shipyard. This innovative ship, especially designed for working in shallow water, will be launched in mid 2010.

In November 2009, the first of a series of four 1,800 m³ split hopper barges, the ‘Concepción’, was delivered by the shipyard Tianjin Xinhe in China. These split hopper barges are smaller than the 3,700 m³ class split hopper barges such as the ‘L’Aigle’ that have been built or are still under construction at the same shipyard. The smaller size makes them more suited for working together with the mega backhoe dredgers and also for works in confined or shallow waters.

Following its delivery, the ‘Concepción’ sailed to Koniambo in New Caledonia, where it was deployed together with the backhoe dredger ‘Mimar Sinan’. In January 2010, the second vessel, the ‘Santiago’, has also been delivered.

At the Xinhe Tianjin shipyard, the backhoe dredger ‘Postnik Yakovlev’ was completed. This vessel, equipped with a Backacter 1100 excavator, is almost identical to the ‘Vitruvius’ and the ‘Mimar Sinan’.

The excellent cooperation between the Xinhe Tianjin Shipyard and the Jan De Nul Group is demonstrated by the fact that in 2009 no less than 6 vessels were launched.

The 3,700 m³ split hopper barge ‘Astrolabe’;

The 3,700 m³ split hopper barge ‘ De Lapérouse’;

The 1,800 m³ split hopper barges ‘Concepción’, ‘Santiago’, ‘Trinidad’ and ‘Victoria’;

3 workboats were also built at this shipyard and were launched in 2009. Once the 2007-2011 investment programme has been completed, the Xinhe Tianjin Shipyard will have built 28 vessels for the group. The first one, the ‘L’Aigle’, was ordered in 2003. This excellent long-term partnership is based on the fulfilment of contractual obligations by both Parties, mutual respect, the technical know-how of the XInhe Shipyard together with the adequate support from the Jan De Nul Group and, finally, the friendly relationships between employees from both companies.

4. Investments

30 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

In 2009, there was no option but to annul the construc-tion contracts with Asia Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (the former Heun Woo Co.Ltd.) in Busan, Korea. The reason for this was that the construction of the two 7,500 m³ trailing hopper suction dredgers and the 6,000 tonne side stone dumping vessel was extremely delayed with the shipyard being declared bankrupt.

In spite of the worsening changed economic situation, it was decided to re-order these vessels. The 2 trailing hopper suction dredgers are, because of their size, perfect for maintenance dredging and smaller dred-ging works and as such, are a necessary addition to the fleet, as is the large side stone dumping vessel. This vessel will be the perfect complement to the fall pipe

4.2. Status of the Investment Programme

The overall investment programme includes for the construction of 27 vessels. In 2008, the first two vessels from the investment programme were delivered: the mega backhoe dredgers ‘Mimar Sinan’ and ‘Vitruvius’. In 2009, 3 vessels were delivered, which means that ear-ly in 2010 another 22 ships were still under construction. Besides the foregoing, the investment programme also includes for several auxiliary vessels.

On 14 August 2009, the first of four large self-propelled cutter suction dredgers was launched at the Uljanik shipyard in Pula, Croatia. At the present time, the ‘Ibn Battuta’ is being made ready to sail and for the tests. In January 2010, the second ship, the ‘Zheng He’, was launched and at the same time, the ‘Fernão de Magal-hães’ was careened. The careening of the fourth vessel in the series is planned for mid 2010. These complex and sophisticated vessels will be deliv-ered in 2010 and 2011 and will be amongst the most powerful in the world. At this time only the ‘J.F.J. De Nul’ has a cutter power that is higher than that of the ‘Ibn Battuta’ class.

As for the auxiliary vessels, five towboats, each with a power of 2x450 kW and based on the standard Damen Stantug 1600 type, were delivered. These were built by the Albwardy shipyard in Dubai. A fast survey vessel, the ‘DN 96’, was delivered by No Limits Ships in Hol-land, and, finally, some flat-bottom craft and smaller pontoons were purchased.

Hopper capacity Hopper content (m3)

0,000

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Cutter capacity Total installed power (kW)

0,00020,00040,00060,00080,000

100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000200,000

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

vessel ‘Simon Stevin’ for dumping stones in shallow waters and for executing hydraulic engineering works.After negotiations with several shipyards in Europe, China and Korea, the Jan De Nul Group signed, in October 2009, the contracts with STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co.Ltd in Korea.These vessels are built at STX’s shipyard in Busan and will be delivered in 2011. For the first time the Jan De Nul Group now works together with a major Korean shipbuilder, which opens opportunities and prospects for future projects.The names of these vessels remained unchanged: the trailing suction dredgers will be named ‘Al-Idrisi’ and ‘Vitus Bering’ and the side stone dumping vessel will be given the name ‘Willem De Vlamingh’.

4.3. Other Investments

In addition to the investment programme for the fleet, the Jan De Nul Group also invested in 2009 in land equipment. In Luxemburg, the works for the construction of the new head office were continued. The completion is planned for the spring of 2010.

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 31

‘Bigger, deeper andmore competitive’‘With the construction of the fall pipe and mining vessel ‘Simon Stevin’ the Jan De Nul Group set out on a new approach. All other rock dumping vessels on the market are existing vessels that were converted, but for the ‘Simon Stevin’ this was changed – both for the ship and the fall pipe installations – for a totally new design. This new working method offers advantages: The ‘Simon Stevin’ is 25 % to 50 % larger than other fall pipe vessels and can work in depths of up to ca. 2,000 metre. The vessel is also more productive and works faster than any of the existing vessels. Thanks to its fully automatic fall pipe the ‘Simon Stevin’ can install a pipe length of twelve metre in a few minutes. An incredible performance, which can never be achieved through manual control. As a result, the ‘Simon Stevin’ is a very competitive vessel and enables the Jan De Nul Group to offer more economic and realistic prices to its clients.’

first assignments in austraLia‘Our clients appreciate the efficiency of the ‘Simon Stevin’. In February 2010, the vessel was completed, after which it immediately began with its first assignment. This was a ‘red letter day’ in today’s difficult market. With one cargo of stones from Dubai weighing 33,000 tonnes – a mass for which our competitors would have to sail up and down twice – the ‘Simon Stevin’ will carry out two projects in Australia.Work will start with a ‘free-span correction’ on an underwater pipeline. As the pipeline doesn’t rest on the seabed over its entire course, it could get overloaded when gas is transported through it. The ‘Simon Stevin’ will ‘fill up’ these voids with stones so that the pipeline will again be supported over its entire length.Following on from this an underwater pipeline bridging at 70 metres below the water surface must be carried out, work that must be executed observing tolerances of 20 centimetres. This can be visualised as building a bridge under water to make sure that two pipelines can cross without contact with one another.In the second half of 2010, the Simon Stevin will then return to Europe for projects in the North Sea.The ‘Simon Stevin’ has even more to offer: as the only rock dumping vessel of its type in the world this vessel has, apart from the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) below the fall pipe, a second ‘work-class’ ROV on board that can move fully autonomously (independently of the vessel). In this way, the crew can inspect the rock dumping process or carry out small repairs when something needs attention with the main ROV. Another unique feature of the ‘Simon Stevin’ is an operational helicopter platform.

The client in Australia immediately wished to make use of this facility due to the vessel is working up to 150 kilometres off the coast.

deep-sea miningThe ‘Simon Stevin’ also has facilities to dredge and load deep-sea minerals from depths of up to -2000 metres. At this present time, this is a market that still has to prove itself. Before the economic crisis, deep-sea mining had been economically feasible, but now that prices have fallen, this is not the case. However, the Jan De Nul Group still envisages opportunities in this sector once the market recovers.’

unique vesseL design‘The Jan De Nul Group builds vessels because they integrate into the fleet, not for short-term assignments. Therefore, no reason is foreseen, although in economi-cally difficult times to adjust the group’s plans for the construction of new vessels. When, after the crisis broke out in 2008, the shipyard in Korea, where the Jan De Nul Group had ordered three ships, went bankrupt, an order was immediately placed with another shipyard. This is the perfect time to order vessels as since the crisis shipyards are seeking orders, which tends then to be a buyers’ market with lower prices.In the course of 2010, it may be that a few vessels will become less active. The projects in Dubai dropped to zero in a month. As this was partially forseen it could be anticipated by exploring new markets and taking on smaller projects - an approach which so far has definitely been successfull. One of the major strengths of the Jan De Nul Group lies in its unique vessel design that, thanks

to the in-house design and engineering departments, can be quickly adjusted and modified to new require ments. For instance the fall pipe vessel ‘La Boudeuse’ can dump rocks from a safe distance around the steel poles of wind turbines using a guided pipe without any risk of dama-ging the steel pole. Clients readily pay a little more for such an efficient and safe working method. The ‘Simon Stevin’ also fits perfectly into this picture: the Jan De Nul Group has yet another competitive vessel at its disposal.’

roBBy De BAcker - Head of the ‘New Constructions’ Departmentnoël pille - Head of the Offshore Department

32 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 33

5.1. Safety, Health and Quality

Because safety, health, quality and environment are all essential elements when executing projects, the Jan De  Nul Group always aims for attaining the highest possible standards in these fields, with the client, employees and others involved who play a crucial role.

In 2009, three surveillance audits were conducted follow ing the renewal audit in 2008. During these audits, no major shortcomings in the functioning of the mana-gement systems were noticed and as a result, the status of the certification remained unaltered.

In spite of the above, a QA-HSE policy is never final. It is a dynamic process that evolves permanently and must be adjusted/adapted at regular intervals.

In 2009, next to monitoring the Key Performance Indi-cators, focus was mainly concentrated on the consistent implementation of more comprehensive quality control plans on our various construction sites. Judiciously esta-blishing designated control points is a difficult exer cise requiring a sensible ‘balancing act’ which must assure that works are executed according to the specifi ca tions and the requirements thereof. Further it is essen tial that the administrative follow-up of these controls is practical, feasible and reasonable without them ‘starting to lead their own life’ independent of the day-to-day work reality.

Quality systems with comprehensive quality controls on constructions sites are indispensable and will remain a challenge from the commencement until and including the completion of projects. The Jan De Nul Group will continue to pay serious attention to such matters.

5. Safety, Health, Qualityand Environment

34 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

CASE STUDY: MANIFA FIELD CAUSEWAY AND ISLAND PROJECT

As an illustration, a closer look at the Manifa Field Cause way and Island project in Saudi Arabia is taken. For this project, a Quality Management System and an adequate quality control system focusing on permanent improvement have been successfully implemented.

To guarantee the quality of the materials used as well as the proper execution of this unique project a detailed Quality Management System was set up, based on the internationally recognised ISO 9001 standard and the Group’s basic system. This plan was implemented under the supervision of the Manifa quality department of the Jan De Nul Group (a team of 30 quality inspectors and 5 administrative employees). Giving a quality guarantee for 50 years, as imposed under the contract, is not some-thing that can be carried out in a short space of time.

Obviously, a quality management system will eventually succeed if it is subjected to regular audits. In the first phase, internal audits are an important ‘tool’ for checking and continuously adjusting the quality management system. The Manifa project was subjected to 13 internal audits, followed by a comprehensive 3-day external audit performed by the globally recognised certification body Lloyd’s Register QA. The audit did not report any devia-tion from the standard.

The treatment of complaints is a way of assessing the quality management system. Complaints can be used as a source of information about situations that, according to the client, are not wanted. By periodically analysing com plaints and through their individual treatment correc tive actions can be defined at system level. So far more than 300 internal observations and about 100 client observations have been treated by the Manifa quality department.

Another way to ensure a high-quality result are the quality inspections themselves. The ISO standard re-quires from organisations that it describes the works, methods of execution and quality requirements before-hand in project-specific documents. This way, the orga-ni sation is forced to seriously review the methods of execution and their inspection and about the coopera-tion between different departments. These documents are also a reference work for the client.

‘For 71 days and 133 talks, the hijacking kept us under a spell’‘As with every dredging company, the Jan De Nul Group has had its fair share of emergency situations: the fire on the ‘Vasco da Gama’ in December 2007 for instance, or the ‘Cristoforo Colombo’ that hit the rocks in Sakhalin. However the hijacking of the ‘Pompeï’ in April 2009 – at a so-called safe 1,000 kilometres from the Somali coast – was completely unexpected. As soon as, on that Saturday morning, 18 April 2009 at 5 o’ clock in the morning, the emergency signal was received, the members of the emergency team: the mana-gement of the Jan De Nul Group and DEME, the safety departments, the technicians who knew the ‘Pompeï’, later also the judicial police and our advisor/spokesman were called and advised of the situation … by Saturday noon everyone was present in our ‘crisis’ room in Aalst. This ‘crisis’ room is specially equipped with computer and communication equipment for such emergency situations.

A hijacking takes up all available time, day and night, you fear for the life of the crew, you can’t concentrate on anything else, let alone continue with your normal activities. Employees of the Jan De Nul Group are technically trained, but what do you do with the human aspects of the crisis : with a crying or anxious mother or wife? From the very beginning, it was decided to contact the families twice a day, which we heard afterwards was appreciated. Today, all crew members involved are still working for the Jan De Nul Group. After 71 days and about 133 negotiation talks the crew were finally released.

Now that the crisis is over, it is realised the crucial role of the independent negotiator involved during the talks with the hijackers. As an external party he could gain time or negotiate with the necessary reserve. It was learnt how important it is to be well prepared: for every action (a phone talk with the hijackers, the repatriation of the crew, etc…) and how the detailed step-by-step plans were drawn up.

Since the hijacking, extra security measures, such as barbed wire on our vessels, have been implemented and the crew is given special security training. In fact everything possible to avoid such similar situations in the future has been taken.

Dirk trAen - Head of Safety Department

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 35

For the Manifa project, quality inspections have been in place from its design up to its completion, such as:

uniformity of sand grains: for every 30,000 m³ of reclaimed sand, sand samples were taken to test their uniformity.

organic materials: for every 120,000 m³ of sand, sand samples were checked for the presence of organic materials, carbonates and other criteria.

geotextile: for every 10,000 m² of geotextile, tests were conducted on yield limit, tensile strength and permeability.

rock revetment works: for every 10,000 tonnes of stones of equal size and weight delivered from several stone quarries in Saudi Arabia, 200 indivi-dual stones were selected for size and weight tests and 50 stones were tested on their strength.

The Manifa Field Causeway and Island Project in the Persian Gulf is work ordered by Saudi Arabia’s Natio-nal Oil Company Saudi Aramco. The Manifa oilfield is situated by the coast of Saudi Arabia and lies in shallow waters, which makes the extraction of oil in the traditional offshore way impossible. In these cir-cum stances therefore, the client chose for developing the field from 25 reclaimed islands and from 2 islands for water injection. The islands are interconnected through 41 km of roads, 5 bridges of 180 m long, 8 brid ges of 90 m long and a bridge of 2.4 km as a con-nection to the mainland. Alongside the land recla-mation and rock revetment works, an access channel and 3 berthing positions were dredged and a quay is being cosntructed. The Jan De Nul Group is respon-sible for both the design and the execution for this project. The civil engineering/concrete works were sub-contracted to the Turkish subcontractor STFA. By mid 2011, 900,000 barrels per day of extra crude oil will be developed at this site - an increase to the total Saudi development capacity of ca. 8 %.

Manifa Field Causeway and Island project - Manifa (Saudi Arabia)

36 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

In Koniambo, New Caledonia, a new nickel export har-bour is being built in a lagoon behind one of the world’s largest coral reefs. To dredge the 5km long access channel and the connection to the harbour basin, the backhoe dredger ‘Mimar Sinan’ is used as this type of vessel is ideal to remove the hard soil material in accordance with the very strict environmental criteria.

In Sydney, Australia, the Jan De Nul Group is expanding the container port. To section off the operating areas from sensitive biotopes, underwater screens have been placed over a total length of 3 km. These screens prevent suspended sediments from spreading them selves over the bay so that sensitive biotopes cannot be affected.

In the port of Messaieed, Qatar, the Gabbro terminal is being expanded with additional quays. For this, dredg-ing works must be carried out in the harbour basin and access channel and also an additional harbour site must be created. At a short distance from the dredging areas are areas with sea grass that act as a breeding ground for shrimps, fish and other marine life. To protect these biotopes, strict requirements are imposed that can only be met by using sludge screens and settling basins.

The project in Panama is a new challenge in this regard. The widening of the Panama Canal and the construc-tion of a new lock complex and corresponding access

5.2. Environment

At this present time, the Marine Environmental Depart-ment (MARED) consists of more than 20 biologists, geologists and marine scientists who critically monitor the environmental aspects of projects worldwide. The environmental effects report (MER) and project specifi-cations describe the possible impact of works on the environment and testing is carried out on the project to the relevant environmental legislation. Based on these documents the Marine Environmental Engineers at the office formulate an environmental monitoring and mana-gement plan (MMP). When monitoring the dredging process, it is of the utmost importance that dredging works observe the imposed environmental standards.

In 2009, the MARED team performed studies for a number of projects in which the environmental aspect played a major part in establishing the designated exe-cution technique. The works in Koniambo, Sydney, Port Hedland, Mesaieed and Panama are definitely ones that are the most prominent inthis important field.

Both in Port Hedland, Australia, and in Mesaieed, Qatar, the harbour is being expanded and the material to be dredged contains a significant amount of fine sediment. To prevent that fine particles are carried along with the processed water and precipitate on sensitive biotopes, large settling basins are built in which these particles are separated and can be collected.

(1) WORKING HOURS: Jan De Nul Group (2) ACCIDENTS WITH LOSS OF TIME: Accident with minimum 1 lost day, the day of the accident not included.(3) FREQUENCY: - Calculated as number of accidents with loss of time per 1 million working hours. - The calculation departs from the assumption that the crew on board is at risk 24 hours a day.(4) SERIOUSNESS: - Calculated as number of lost calendar days per 1,000 working hours. - Since the introduction of the safety management systems in 1996 a low frequency and seriousness degree is maintained. (5) RECORDABLE INJURIES: all accidents except for first-aid accidents(6) TRI RATIO: calculated as the total number of recordable injuries per 1 million working hours.

Jan De Nul Group accident statistics marine works 2005-2009

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Working hours (1) 7,755,514 7,997,880 8,147,843 10,308,791 10,754,632

Accidents with loss of time (2) 35 27 37 33 43

Frequency (3) (F) 4.5 3.38 4.5 3.2 3.99

Lost calendar days 982 1,823 1,010 1,224 2,118

Actual seriousness (4) 0.13 0.23 0.12 0.12 0.19

Fatal accidents none none none none none

Recordable injuries (5) 79 56 63 79 87

TRI ratio (6) 10.19 7.01 7.73 7.66 8.08

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 37

channels require the clearing of some areas containing diverse vegetation, ranging from grassland to wood-land. As a result of this compensating measures must be taken such as moving the animals present (both

protected and non-protected species) to a nearby nature reserve. All these activities are closely monitored by the MARED team.

In 2009, the globally recognised certification body Lloyd’s Register QA published the article ‘Environmental issues more actual and international than ever’ about the certi-fication of The Jan De Nul Group. The Jan De Nul Group applies various certified systems for assuring quality, environmental care and wellbeing and safety at work. The implementation of these quality management systems by Jan De Nul N.V. and, later on, their application as a standard by the whole of the group, clearly elucidated the structure of the family busi ness. It is a project-specific system. For every project, a quality, safety and environmental management plan is drawn up according to the client’s demands. In other words,

the basic system must always include for the client’s requirements. Envisan N.V., the environment division of the group, follows the Jan De Nul system, but also has to observe recent environmental legislation. This is why Envisan chose for an integrated system with extra focus on the environment. Environmental awareness is increasing all over the world. When it concerns a remediation project, not only one’s own employees, but also the neighbour-hood and the environment must be protected. The mana gement system of Jan De Nul and Envisan strives to be practical, efficient and functional and its aim is to support our activities.

Koniambo Nickel Project (New Caledonia)

38 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 39

6.1. Popular Employer

For the second year in a row, Jan De Nul has won the Randstad Award for the most popular employer, based on a study performed in 2009. This means that in winning this award last year was no fluke but the result of a posi-tive perception among the general public, with job secu-rity and the company’s financial health being decisive criteria.Without being a goal in its own right, this award confirms that as to recruitment and selection of person-nel the Jan De Nul Group succeeds in highlighting and positively conveying to our target group of prospective employees the positive and strong aspects of a profes-sional career with the Jan De Nul Group. Our primary target group are still school-leavers.

6.2. Personnel Evolution

In 2009, the Jan De Nul Group continued recruiting to man its expanded dredging fleet and also for its suppor-ting services. 126 new staff members were recruited from various disciplines: civil engineers, industrial engineers, translators, degree masters and bachelors in financial study fields and IT specialists.

In this respect focus is on study areas that come closest to our industry and as such keep in touch with last-year students through various activities. During their final year, students from these study areas are given the oppor-tunity, through various channels, to get to know the company. They are invited to guided company and con-struction site tours so that they can take a close look at our activities. Trainee posts are also offered so that they can actually experience what a job in our company and working abroad entails. At job seminars etc, students can also make inquiries about the various employment opportunities.

Thanks to this personal and targeted approach appli-cants often have already a good idea of the company and the work entailment of the positions for which they apply.

6. Personnel

40 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

and then completed their training in Dynamic Positio-ning. The result from this is an enthusiast team looking forward to its offshore assignments.

In the meantime the Jan De Nul Group proceeded with the recruiting and training of additional dredging staff for the 22 new vessels which will be delivered in 2010 and 2011. In 2009, 435 new crew members were recrui-ted, who have been previously been trained aboard other worldwide vessels, to assume their new positions with the Group within the near future.The attraction of a company such as Jan De Nul, with a solid international reputation, a modern fleet and good posting and working conditions, continues to ensure that experienced and capable crew members sponta-neously find their way to the Jan De Nul Group.

The greater part of the new crew is selected by our per-manent crewing agencies in Croatia, Letvia, the Philip-pines and Indonesia.The total work force increased in 2009 from 4,985 to 5,034. And it is envisaged that, in the next few years, our workforce will continue to increase – although this may be to a lesser extent.

Personnel per category

Crew 66 % Salaried employees 24 %

Workers 10 %

Salaried employees according to education

University degree (masters) 13 %

Industrial engineers 28 %

Others 13 %

Bachelors 26 %

Civil engineers 20 %

Personnel evolution

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

This year, the Jan De Nul Group started a new assess-ment system for salaried employees and executive staff. A system has been adopted in which every employee is assessed in areas of competence that are relevant to his/her position. The new assessment system will help to fine-tune the capacities/capabilities of our employ-ees to the needs of the company.

6.3. Crew

The search for technically skilled staff still continues. In 2009, a suitable crew for the ‘Cristóbal Colón’, ‘Postnik Yakovlev’ and the ‘Concepción’ was successfully recrui-ted, always aiming for a good mixture of experienced Jan De Nul crew and new officers.

The real challenge will come in 2010, when no less than 10 new ships and also several auxiliary vessels will be placed into service. This is a serious challenge as, in a short period of time, targeted recruitment and proper training must be combined and completed. In 2009, part of the crew were trained to become fall pipe ope-rators. In mid 2009, the ‘La Boudeuse’ was placed into service as a fall pipe vessel with a ROV-module (Remote Operated Vehicle) and our engineers, pipe operators and electricians were successfully retrained to become skilled ‘fall pipe crew’. To prepare for this new offshore activity, the crew were trained in cooperation with the suppliers of the ROV-module. For the ‘Simon Stevin’ an experienced crew was selec-ted from our trailing suction hopper fleet. These follo-wed both theoretical and practical simulator training

6.4. Training

Learning how to dredge is one thing, carrying out repairs aboard our ships is at least equally important. It is realised that, given our exponential growth, a great deal of experience is to be shared in this field as well, and as a result in December 2009 we started with a ‘pump chamber training’ course. Crew members with less than 3 years of dredging experience receive a three-day theoretical and ‘hands-on’ training course from our technical training team under the supervision of the technical training supervisor and of the senior staff working on ageing pumps and valves in need of repair. To this aim, a fully equipped room has been set up, with a realistic lay-out, similar to that which can be found aboard our trailing suction hopper and cutter suction dredgers. The reactions of the first students were extremely positive.

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 41

a permanent flow of information. Psychological assistance was also provided where needed. In spite of all this, this period was a difficult ordeal for the families of our crew members and a nerve-wrecking and very intense period for the concerned Jan De Nul employees and manage-ment. Fortunately, the hijacking had a positive outcome and after a well-deserved long period of leave all crew mem- bers concerned are back at work with the Jan De Nul fleet.

6.5. Pompeï

In April 2009, the company was unpleasantly surprised by the hijacking of the Pompeï, where part of our crew was taken hostage by Somali pirates for 71 days. From the Jan De Nul Crew Department, day-to-day support to the concerned families, who had to go through a long and difficult period of time, was offered and given. Every day, the wives of our crew members were kept informed on the latest developments and negotiations. Good coordination and close cooperation with the negotiators and the crisis centre of the federal government ensured

42 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

Construction of new head office - Mamer (Luxembourg)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 43

In 2009, the turnover increased to EUR 2.1 billion (11.7 % compared to 2008). The gross result rose to EUR 493 million and the gross result after depreciations to EUR 319 million. The increase of depreciations to EUR 174 million can be mainly ascribed to the delivery of ships in 2009. The net result (EUR 253 million) includes a nega-

7.1. Profit and Loss Account

Key figures of the profit an loss account in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the turnover1

in million euro 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Turnover 795 1,191 1,830 1,883 2,103

Gross Result 178 298 456 389 493

Gross Result after Depreciations 84 191 331 234 319

Net Result 81 182 338 79 253

Operational Cash Flow 205 328 439 315 440

% of turnover 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Gross Result 22 25 25 21 23

Gross Result after Depreciations 11 16 18 12 15

Net Result 10 15 18 4 12

Operational Cash Flow 26 28 24 17 21

(1) GROSS RESULT = Turnover – costs excluding depreciations, financial and extraordinary charges and income, taxes and participations (EBITDA) GROSS RESULT AFTER DEPRECIATIONS = Turnover – costs, excluding financial and extraordinary charges and income, taxes and participations (EBIT) NET RESULT = Turnover – costs, excluding participations and companies consolidated by net equity methodCASH FLOW = Net Result excluding changes in exchange rate differences, provisions for liabilities and charges and value corrections and depreciations on formation expenses, tangible and intagible fixed assets.

tive financial result of EUR -20.9 million and a negative extraordinary result of EUR -2.9 million. The financial result reflects amongst others negative net currency translation differences amounting to EUR -8.5 million and a net balance of interest costs amounting to EUR -10 million.

7. Financial Key Figures

44 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

7.2. Balance

Key figures of the balance sheet

in million euro 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Fixed Assets 735 745 1,129 1,446 1,774

Current Assets 724 1,032 1,278 1,489 1,583

TOTAL ASSETS 1,460 1,777 2,407 2,935 3,357

Short-term Debt 245 398 744 845 918

NET ASSETS 1,215 1,379 1,663 2,090 2,439

Capital and Reserves (incl. Minority Interests) 835 983 1,286 1,377 1,611

Provisions for Liabilities and Charges 66 94 76 160 163

Long-term Debt 262 235 251 468 503

Deferred Income 51 67 50 85 162

The ‘Fixed Assets’ increased in 2009 to EUR 1.774 mil-lion, mainly on account of the advance payments made for vessels under construction. The increase of ‘Current Assets’ is mainly driven by an increase of ‘Works in Progress’ on account of deliveries to shipyards invoiced according to a milestone schedule and following a limited increase of outstanding debtors. The ‘Capital

and Reserves’ further increased to EUR 1.611 billion because of the transfer of realised profits. The long-term financial debt also increased by EUR 35 million, the short-term financial debt by EUR 74 million, entered into mainly by way of commercial securities. Given the advance pay-ments for vessels under the investment programme, this increase is rather limited.

7.3. Ratios

Financial ratios2

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Solvency Ratio 0.57 0.55 0.53 0.47 0.48

Acid Ratio 2.82 2.49 1.63 1.52 1.24

Current Ratio 2.45 2.22 1.61 1.60 1.47

Net Debt / Gross Operationg Result before Depreciations -0.03 -0.64 -0.27 0.23 0.55

(2) SOLVENCY RATIO = (Capital and Reserves + Minority Interests) / Total Assets ACID RATIO = (Current Assets – Stock) / Short-term Debt (<1year) CURRENT RATIO = Current Assets / Current Liabilities NET DEBT = (Long-term Debt to Financial Institutions (excluding leasing)

+ Short-term Debt to Financial Institutions) – (Cash + Deposits (excluding leasing)) GROSS RESULT = Turnover – costs excluding depreciations, financial and extraordinary charges and income, taxes and participations (EBITDA)

7.4. Fleet Capacity Utilisation

Average occupancybased on CIRIA-value

eNTIRe FleeT hOppeRFleeT CuTTeRFleeT

2006 93 % 95 % 92 %

2007 96 % 99 % 96 %

2008 98 % 99 % 95 %

2009 93 % 93 % 88 %

These figures are weighed averages using the CIRIA-valueCapacity utilization = (total number of hours that a ship is assigned to a project + major repairs and docking periods + mobilisation + project-related idle time) / (number of hours per year)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 45

‘In spite of the crisis, the Jan De Nul Group realised record figures’

In spite of the general crisis, the Jan De Nul Group realised record figures in 2009. With a turnover of 2.1 bil-lion Euro and an EBITDA of nearly 500 million Euro, the strongest result ever in the history of the Jan De Nul Group was achieved! This result could only be achieved thanks to our greatest asset: our resilience.For instance, all vessels that were working in Dubai, could be deployed immediately on other or new projects. The investment programme was pursued unabatedly, even when the shipyard in Korea, where the Jan De Nul Group had ordered three ships, went bankrupt, the order was transferred and placed with another shipyard. Such issues require a great deal of logistic organisation, human flexibility and commercial flair – this was achieved.

In its 70 years of existence the Jan De Nul Group has known several economic crises. The extraordinary fact about this current crisis was that the banks were also hit. This is not to say that the credit crisis was caused by the subsequent recession. The unprecedented and rapid collapse of the credit market was unexpected. In large projects, such as in Panama for instance, the Jan De Nul Group was able to demonstrate that it was a serious bidder by way of so-called ‘guarantee lines’. For this, we needed the assistance of banks, but in the ‘full-blown’ credit crunch this was not at all obvious. Our forte has been that at the Jan De Nul Group there is a good and balanced relationship with our banks: they share in the return of our international expansion, with products such as export financing, bonding, hedging, etc.

It should also notice that over the years the Jan De Nul Group has evolved from a closed family business into a transparent company. This helps as well. Also – and this

certainly isn’t less important, – our balance consists for 50  % of our own capital and reserves. Every Euro is covered by a Euro from our own fund and every Euro of profit made by the Jan De Nul Group is reinvested in the company.

Our challenge now is to continue to support our increa-sing internationalisation and to develop such internatio-nal networks with banks considering that now ever more Belgian banks are withdrawing to their home market and even for their corporate banking activities these strongly depend on the policies and capital requirements set by their head office, which is not always necessarily esta-blished in Belgium.

2010 will be a year of transition. The dredging market and contract activities are again ‘picking up’, but projects that were delayed during the crisis years should be resche duled probably in 2011. Meanwhile, the invest-ments of the Jan De Nul Group are on schedule. In April of this year, with 70 % of our five-year investment pro-gramme ending end 2011, already being paid. At pre-sent, it is important to offer our people proper support - then, because of the higher number of smaller projects, fairly young people can be given a great deal of res pon-sibility. Consolidating the expertise and experience built up by the Jan De Nul Group in our young team, that is one of the main challenges for the following years.’

pAul lievens - Chief Financial Officer

46 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

The trailing suction hopper dredger De Bougainville sailing along the Sydney Opera House (Australia)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 47

Report on the consolidated accountsFollowing our appointment by the General Meeting of the Shareholders, we have audited the accompanying consolidated accounts of JAN DE NUL GROUP*, which comprise the consolidated balance sheet as at Decem-ber 31, 2009 and the consolidated profit and loss account for the year then ended and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes.

Board of directors’ responsibility for the consolidated accountsThe board of directors is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these consolidated accounts in accordance with Luxembourg legal and regulatory re-quirements relating to the preparation of the consoli-dated accounts. This responsibility includes: designing, implementing and maintaining internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of consolidated accounts that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies; and making accoun-ting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.

Responsibility of the Réviseur d’entreprises agrééOur responsibility is to express an opinion on these con-solidated accounts based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing as adopted for Luxembourg by the Commis-sion de Surveillance du Secteur Financier. Those stan-dards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the annual accounts are free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the conso lidated accounts. The procedures selected de-pend on the judgement of the Réviseur d’entreprises agréé, including the assessment of the risks of material

misstatement of the consolidated accounts, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the Réviseur d’entreprises agréé considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the annual accounts in order to design audit proce-dures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effec-tiveness of the entity’s internal control.An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the board of directors, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the con-solidated accounts.We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

OpinionIn our opinion, the consolidated accounts give a true and fair view of the financial position of JAN DE NUL GROUP* as of December 31, 2009, and of the results of its operations for the year then ended in accordance with the Luxembourg legal and regulatory requirements relating to the preparation of the consolidated accounts.

Report on other legal and regulatory requirementsThe consolidated management report, which is the re-sponsibility of the board of directors, is consistent with the consolidated accounts.

Luxembourg, April 30, 2010

Thierry REMACLE Réviseur d’Entreprises Agréé Grant Thornton Lux Audit SA

*JAN DE NUL GROUP is the trade name for Sofidra SA

Grant Thornton Lux Audit S.A. 83, Pafebruch L-8308 Capellen Luxembourg Tel.: +352 40 12 99 Fax: +352 40 05 98 www.gtlux.lu

8. annual accounts

48 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

consolidated balance sheet as of december 31, 2009

Jan De Nul GROUP * Registered office: Luxembourg - H.R. Luxembourg: B 73.723

ASSeTS 2009 2008

fixed assets 1,773,808,973.47 1,446,126,738.02

intangible assets 5,621,861.94 1,794,623.82

concessions, patents, licences, trademarks & similar rights 5,621,861.94 1,794,623.82

Acquired by the company 5,621,861.94 1,794,623.82

tangible assets 1,758,480,124.38 1,434,194,251.82

Land and buildings 33,048,393.91 53,975,846.68

plant and machinery 881,892,585.96 688,176,783.80

other fixtures and fittings, tools and equipement 12,104,216.74 12,344,355.52

payments on account & tangible assets in course of constr. 831,434,927.77 679,697,265.82

financial assets 9,382,081.98 10,072,509.02

securities held as fixed assets 1,399,600.00 1,550,726.08

other loans 7,982,481.98 8,521,782.94

companies consolidated by net equity method 324,905.17 65,353.36

current assets 1,576,639,043.43 1,477,129,390.74

stock 321,006,278.90 190,357,812.05

raw materials and consumables 103,935,611.15 78,996,497.12

Work in progress 217,070,667.75 111,361,314.93

debtors 921,098,690.97 875,176,155.98

trade debtors 794,836,640.25 741,643,433.78

Becoming due and payable within one year 679,913,403.80 741,643,433.78

Becoming due and payable in more than one year 114,923,236.45 0.00

amounts owed by undertakings with which the company is linked by virtue of participating interests 22,273,529.09 22,930,815.82

Becoming due and payable within one year 22,273,529.09 22,930,815.82

other debtors 103,988,521.63 110,601,906.38

Becoming due and payable within one year 103,988,521.63 110,601,906.38

transferable securities 0.00 45,000,000.00

other transferable securities 0.00 45,000,000.00

cash at bank, cash in postal cheque accounts and cash in hand 334,534,073.56 366,595,422.71

prepayements and accrued income 7,018,231.98 12,382,588.28

totaL assets 3,357,466,248.88 2,935,638,717.04

(expressed in euro)

*Jan de nuL group is the trade name for sofidra s.a.

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 49

consolidated balance sheet as of december 31, 2009

Jan De Nul GROUP * Registered office: Luxembourg - H.R. Luxembourg: B 73.723

lIABIlITIeS 2009 2008

capitaL and reserves 1,611,197,620.52 1,377,319,130.71

subscribed capital 450,000,000.00 450,000,000.00

share premium account 19,080,411.00 19,080,411.00

reserves (37,067,870.49) (36,146,661.88)

Legal reserve 2,306,855.65 2,284,773.65

Consolidation reserves (39,374,726.14) (38,431,435.53)

result brought forward 992,411,326.06 913,890,092.91

minority interests 107,395,811.36 99,075,877.60

translation differences (173,850,021.05) (147,123,904.07)

result for the financial year 253,227,963.64 78,543,315.15

provisions for LiaBiLities and charges 163,186,297.09 160,011,611.50

provisions for taxation 40,249,547.70 36,185,147.13

other provisions 122,936,749.39 123,826,464.37

creditors 1,420,953,582.15 1,313,059,066.92

amounts owed to credit institutions 607,724,069.88 497,873,708.39

Becoming due and payable within one year 104,168,309.71 29,910,456.97

Becoming due and payable in more than one year 503,555,760.17 467,963,251.42

payments received on accounts of orders in so faras they are not shown separately as deductions from stocks 211,547,337.98 353,719,883.07

Becoming due and payable within one year 211,547,337.98 353,719,883.07

trade creditors / debts on purchase and provisions of services 519,918,618.10 419,526,268.04

Becoming due and payable within one year 519,918,618.10 419,526,268.04

amounts owed to undertakings with whichthe company is linked by virtue of participating interests 83,148.15 0.00

Becoming due and payable within one year 83,148.15 0.00

tax and social security debts 18,216,800.47 12,142,756.83

tax debts 14,566,854.81 7,481,324.66

social security debts 3,649,945.66 4,661,432.17

other creditors - becoming due and payable within one year 63,463,607.57 29,796,450.59

Becoming due and payable within one year 63,463,607.57 29,796,450.59

accruaLs and deferred income 162,128,749.12 85,248,907.91

totaL LiaBiLities 3,357,466,248.88 2,935,638,717.04

(expressed in euro)

50 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

consolidated profit and loss account for the Year ended december 31, 2009

Jan De Nul GROUP * Registered office: Luxembourg - H.R. Luxembourg: B 73.723

2009 2008

net turnover 2,103,222,107.68 1,882,582,802.04

increase in stocks of finished goods and in work in progress 20,060,222.88 108,649,177.31

Work performed by the undertaking for itsown purposes and capitalised 105,709,352.82 3,414,097.17

other operating income 34,472,675.46 67,301,459.15

TOTAl pROFIT 2,263,464,358,84 2,061,947,535.67

goods and services 1,527,244,982.52 1,430,790,061.09

Consumption of goods for resale, raw materials and consumables 1,128,787,313.29 1,070,753,351.98

Other external charges 398,457,669.23 360,036,709.11

staff costs 225,917,324.64 203,988,300.83

Wages and salaries 156,016,081.63 133,990,533.32

Social security costs accruing by reference to wages and salaries 42,551,781.04 40,340,980.89

Other staff costs 27,349,461.97 29,656,786.62

value adjustments 174,257,682.17 154,617,625.72

Value adjustments in respect of formation expenses and tangible and intangible fixed assets 173,949,412.23 146,353,489.20

Value adjustments in respect of current assets 308,269.94 8,264,136.52

other operating charges 17,456,141.84 38,420,465.23

TOTAl BuSINeSS eXpeNSeS 1,944,876,131.17 1,827,816,452.87

wORkING ReSulTS 318,588,227.67 234,131,082.80

income from participating interests 934,244.63 1,563,949.02

Other participating interests 934,244.63 1,563,949.02

other interest receivable and similar income 28,986,892.88 33,027,882.18

Other interest receivable and similar income 28,986,892.88 33,027,882.18

value adjustments in respect of financial assetsand of transf. securities held as current assets 308,425.37 119,733.84

interest paid and similar charges 50,543,854.29 65,729,336.58

Other interest payable and charges 50,543,854.29 65,729,336.58

FINANCIAl ReSulT (20,931,142.15) (31,257,239.22)

(Expressed in euro)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 51

2009 2008

extraordinary income 2,339,003.15 8,724,556.98

extraordinary charges 5,248,680.78 112,527,976.92

eXCepTIONAl ReSulT (2,909,677.63) (103,803,419.94)

income tax 20,054,592.97 11,672,185.18

other taxes not shown under the above items 12,133,552.22 7,687,399.03

ReSulT mINORITy pARTICIpATION 262,559,262.70 79,710,839.43

equity holders of the parent 331,584.65 (75,263.62)

minority interest (9,662,883.71) (1,092,260.66)

ReSulT ThIS yeAR 253,227,963.64 78,543,315.15

(Expressed in euro)

52 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

8. Jaarrekening

Trailing suction hopper dredgers Cristóbal Colón and Francis Beaufort at work in the port of Duqm (Oman)

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 53

EUROPE

Benelux1 Maintenance dredging works in the North Sea,

the maritime access to and the ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge

2 Executing dredging works in the Western Scheldt and Sea-Scheldt inbetween Vlissingen and the new sea lock at Wintam

3 Executing maintenance dredging workson the coastal marina of Nieuwpoort

4 Execution of dredging works and constructionof railway beds - Kluizendock Ghent

5 Executing dredging works and raising premisesat the southern channel dock in the back harbour area in Zeebrugge

6 Construction of inter-tidal area‘Hedwige Prosper Polder’

7 Capital dredging works for a quay wall inthe ‘Verrebroekdock‘ in the Port of Antwerp

germany8 Maintenance dredging works in the

port of Hamburg

9 Maintenance dredging works in the river Ems

10 Offshore basis Cuxhaven, 3rd and 4th phase

spain11 Renovation of berth at Muelle Prat

12 Dredging of the access channel andsouthern basin at the port of Castellon

13 Protection works for the expansionof the port of Valencia

9. Jan De Nul Projects 2009

54 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

ireland14 Corrib Project – excavation of trench

in the breakers for a gas pipeline

united kingdom15 New Tyne bank connection

16 Viking Project – Pre-sweeping

AFRIKA

angola17 Angola LNG Project

seychelles 18 Construction of breakwaters in the

Zilwa Marina - Phase 1: Production of rubble stone

tunisia19 Taparura Project, remediation and beach replenish-

ment works at the northern coastal strip of Sfax

algeria20 Terga Power Plant intake pipelines: dredging a

trench for the installation of a water supply and discharge system for a thermal power plant

21 Arzew Project: dredging works, construction of foundations for caissons, filling of caissons and creating a protection against erosion

cameroon22 Dredging works for the access channel

in the port of Douala

MIDDLE EAST

abu dhabi23 Saadiyat Island Project

dubai24 Palm Island II (Palm Jebel Ali), Reclamation Works

for the Construction of the artificial Island and Rock Revetment Works for the Construction of the Breakwater

25 Jebel Ali New Container Terminal, Phase 1, MCC3

26 Palm Cove Canal - Phase I, Dry Channel Excavation

27 New Island Development (NID), Land reclamation works for the construction of an artificial Island

28 Waterfront Project, Land reclamation worksfor the construction of an artificial Island

oman29 Muscat (Seeb) Luchthaven opspuitwerken

30 Port of Duqm, New Port &Dry Dock Complex in Duqm

qatar31 Dredging Works for the Pearl GTL Project Pipelines

/ Offshore works for Qatar Shell GTL Limited

32 Ras Laffan Port Expansion Project

33 Mesaieed Extension of the Gabro Berth

34 Widening of the access channel up tothe berths of Qafco in the port of Mesaieed

saudi arabia35 Manifa Field Causeway and Island Construction

Project, Design and Construction of 27 artificial islands at the Manifa Oilfield, Saudi Arabia, connected by a main causeway and connected side-roads, including bridges and culverts

iran36 South Pars phase 15/16 – Dredging a 4 km long

trench for the shore approach of two 32” gas exporting pipelines

37 South Pars phase 12 – Dredging a 500 m long trench for the shore approach of three 32’ pipelines and one 30’ pipeline

38 Asalouyeh Mini-Port – Dredging a 600 m long trench for the installation of a quay wall in the port

LATIN AMERICA

argentina39 Río Paraná / Río de la Plata Waterway Concession

40 Dredging works in the port of Puerto la Plata

41 Five-year maintenance contract for the access channel and berths in the port of Bahia Blanca

42 Three-year maintenance contract for the access channel and berths in the port of Quequén

43 Dredging works in the inner harbour of Buenos Aires

a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9 55

OCEANIA

australia58 Port Expansion works for BHP Iron Ore in Port

Hedland

59 Port Expansion works in Port Botany

60 Pluto LNG Project – Offshore rock dumping

61 Port Expansion works in Newcastle

new caledonia62 Dredging works in the access channel and

harbour basin for the Koniambo Nickel Project

ASIA

singapore63 Land reclamation for the islands of Pulau Ubin

and Pulau Tekong (Part 1)

64 Jurong Island Terminal, Phase 4, Land reclamation

65 Pasir Panjang Terminal, Phase 3 and 4,Land reclamation

taiwan66 Dredging and land reclamation works

in the port of Taichung

67 Dredging and land reclamation worksin the port of Taipei

68 Dredging and land reclamation worksin the port of Kaoshiung

malaysia69 Land reclamation works for the

construction of a new coastguard harbour

russia70 Restoration of washed away foundations of

a pipeline utilizing the fall pipe vessel ‘La Boudeuse’

Brazil44 Deepening the access channel, harbour basin and

berths in the port of Barra do Riacho in Aracruz.

45 Dredging works for the expansion of theport of Río Grande

colombia 46 Capital dredging works for the access channel and

swinging basin of the TCbuen Container Terminal

47 Maintenance dredging works forthe access channel in Tumaco

honduras48 Dredging and land reclamation works for the

new container terminal in Puerto Cortés for ENP

mexico49 Capital and maintenance dredging works in

the ports of Ensenada, Mazatlán and Manzanillo

50 Dredging works for the eastward extension of the turning circle of the port of Veracruz

51 Cancún beach replenishment works

panama52 Charter contract for dredging equipment /

backhoe dredger, contract CDC-179913

53 Widening and deepening of the Atlantic access channel and the northern access channel to the third lock complex at the Panama Canal

54 Design and construction of the third lockcomplex, Panama Canal

peru55 Dredging works for the Callao container terminal

56 Peru LNG Export Project Marine Facilities

trinidad & tobago57 Capital dredging and land reclamation works

in the port of Galeota

15 j a a r v e r s l a g 2 0 0 9

9

10

15 1

36 37 38

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

67

68

66

19

18

52 5448

50 51

49

7

59

61

5860

35

29 30

31

32

33

34

17

2253

40

39

42

43

41

24

25

26

28

2723

5553

4647

3544

45

62

12

14

16

13

54

11

20 21

63 64 6569

70

9. Jan De Nul Projects 2009

j a a r v e r s l a g 2 0 0 9 15

9

10

15 1

36 37 38

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

67

68

66

19

18

52 5448

50 51

49

7

59

61

5860

35

29 30

31

32

33

34

17

2253

40

39

42

43

41

24

25

26

28

2723

5553

4647

3544

45

62

12

14

16

13

54

11

20 21

63 64 6569

70

9. Jan De Nul Projects 2009

56 a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 0 9

Dit rapport is ook beschikbaar in het Nederlands. Ce rapport est également disponible en français. Este informe también está disponible en español.

Настоящий отчет предоставляется также на русском языке.

Contact: for more information on this annual report please contact Dave Vander Heyde – Financial Department – dave.vanderheyde@jandenul.com

Responsible editor: Jan De Nul Group Correspondence address: 34-36, Parc d’Activités Capellen, 8308 Capellen, Luxembourg.

BelGium Jan De Nul NV Tragel 60 9308 Hofstade-Aalst - Belgium t Nat. Division +32 53 73 15 11 Int. Division +32 53 73 17 11F +32 53 78 17 60 +32 53 77 28 55info@jandenul.com

luXemBourG Dredging and Maritime Management SA 34-36, Parc d’Activités Capellen 8308 Capellen - Luxembourg t +352 39 89 11F +352 39 96 43info@dmmlux.com

mAuritius Jan De Nul Pacific Ltd. Suite 220, 2nd Floor St. James Court, St. Denis Street Port Louis - Republic of Mauritius t +230 210 69 97F +230 210 66 61mauritius.office@jandenul.com

FrAnce Sodraco International SAS32, place de la Gare59000 Lille - Franceinfo@sodraco.com

itAly Jan De Nul (Italia) SpAVia Matteucci 38/F56124 Pisa - Italyt +39 050 54 24 35F +39 050 97 39 03italy.office@jandenul.com

russiAJan De Nul NV Russian BranchOffice A-415, Business Center SenatorV.I., 18th Line, 31199178 Saint-Petersburg - Russiat +7 812 332 50 64F +7 812 332 50 63russia.office@jandenul.com

the netherlAnDs Dredging and Contracting Rotterdam BVP.O. Box 18024 - 4601 ZA Bergen op ZoomZuid-Oostsingel 24 D 4611 BB Bergen op Zoom - The Netherlandst +31 164 26 61 44F +31 164 26 04 54info@dcrnl.com

uniteD kinGDom Jan De Nul (UK.) Ltd.Richmond House, High StreetAscot Berks SL5 7HG - United Kingdomt +44 1344 627 010F +44 1344 627 139uk.office@jandenul.com

niGeriADredging and Reclamation Jan De Nul Ltd.164B Ikeja Way, Dolphin EstateIkoyi, Lagos - Nigeriat +234 1 269 67 66F +234 1 269 67 68nigeria.office@jandenul.com

ArGentinAHidrovia SACorrientes 316, Piso 2(C1043AAQ) Buenos Aires - Argentinat +54 11 43 20 69 00F +54 11 43 20 69 11argentina.office@jandenul.comdragado@hidrovia-sa.com.ar

BrAZilJan De Nul do Brasil Dragagem Ltda.Av. Das Americas 700, Bloco 1, sala 20122640-100 Barra da TijucaRio de Janeiro, RJ - Brazilt +55 21 2132 73 71F +55 21 2132 73 75brasil.office@jandenul.com meXicoMexicana de Dragados SA de CVPaseo de las Palmas No. 405 – Desp. 1104Lomas de Chapultepec - 11000 México, D.F. Mexicot +52 55 53 95 59 60F +52 55 53 95 58 75info@mexicanadedragados.com

sAuDi ArABiAJan De Nul Saudi Arabia Co. Ltd. P.O. Box 76616, Al-Khobar-31952Saudi Arabiat +966 3 887 72 35F +966 3 887 72 53

uniteD ArAB emirAtesJan De Nul Dredging Ltd.Office 116, Sultan Business Center P.O.Box 28805, Bur Dubai, Dubai - U.A.E.t +971 4 335 55 47F +971 4 335 53 56middle.east.office@jandenul.com jandenul@emirates.net.ae

inDiAJan De Nul Dredging India Pvt. Ltd.No. 2 (1st Floor), 25th East StreetKamaraj Nagar, ThiruvanmiyurChennai 600041 - Indiat +91 44 2445 63 23 +91 44 2445 63 24F +91 44 2445 63 25info@jdnindia.com

philippinesJan De Nul NV Philippine BranchThe Excelsior Building, Room 303161 Roxas Boulevard, BaclaranParanaque City 1700, Manila - Philippinest +63 2 879 80 42F +63 2 879 82 39philippines.office@jandenul.com

sinGAporeJan De Nul (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.400, Orchard Road, # 18-06 Orchard Towers238875 Singaporet +65 6 235 27 90F +65 6 235 27 91singapore.office@jandenul.com

envisAn nvTragel 609308 Hofstade-Aalst - Belgium t +32 53 73 16 52F +32 53 77 28 55info@envisan.com I www.envisan.com

Jan De Nul Group (sofidra sa)

Luxembourg info@jandenulgroup.com www.jandenul.com

BoArD oF Directors

J.P.J. DE NUL D. DE NUL G. BECQUER D. VANDER HEYDE J. VAN BOXSTAEL

Jan De Nul Group (sofidra sa)

Luxembourg info@jandenulgroup.com www.jandenul.com