Location
United Kingdom / Europe
Project record
Maraen Port of Nigg Eastern Inner Dock Quay
Maraen Port of Nigg has awarded McLaughlin & Harvey the construction contract for a new heavy-duty Eastern Inner Dock Quay. The £30 million-plus investment will create about 16,000 m² of quay area, add roll-on/roll-off capacity, and connect the adjacent Sumitomo Electric high-voltage cable factory directly to cable load-out and export operations.
Segment
Port infrastructure
Status
Construction contract awarded; site preparations commenced / Confirmed
Last checked
12 August 2026
Coverage
Related sectors
Port infrastructure is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.
Subject index
Related subjects
These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.
Project anatomy
Contract scope and delivery roles
- Client / authority
- Maraen Port of Nigg
- Delivery parties
- McLaughlin & Harvey
- Contract route
- Owner-awarded construction contract within a £30 million-plus port investment, supported by a £10 million Highlands and Islands Enterprise grant; the contract price, bidder field and detailed commercial terms are not disclosed
- Execution window
- Final investment approval was announced on 26 March 2026 and the construction award on 28 May 2026, when the owner said site preparations had commenced. Construction completion, handover, commissioning and first cable export are not dated in the current disclosures.
- Works package
- Modify the existing eastern inner-dock rock revetment into a vertical retaining-wall, heavy-duty quay covering about 16,000 m²; provide additional Ro-Ro capability; and create a dedicated load-out and export interface for high-voltage cables manufactured at the adjacent Sumitomo Electric facility.
- Marine interfaces
- The delivery chain joins revetment conversion, retaining-wall and quay construction, berth and mooring geometry, heavy-load pavement, Ro-Ro access, cable-handling routes, load-out engineering, cable installation vessels, and safe construction inside an operating energy port. The public record does not identify a separate dredging package or accepted berth depth for the new quay.
- Commercial evidence boundary
- The award converts a consented port plan into an executable civil package and anchors a specific cable-export use case. Supplier demand spans marine civils, heavy-load and Ro-Ro interfaces, mooring and fendering, cable logistics, temporary works, commissioning and vessel coordination. Revenue or operating performance still depends on physical completion, load testing, berth acceptance, cable-factory output, vessel readiness and the first documented export operations.
Project timeline
Material developments
Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.
Open this project in the Change LogMaraen awarded the construction contract and began site preparations
The owner named McLaughlin & Harvey for the Eastern Inner Dock Quay and said site preparations had commenced. The award establishes the delivery contractor and an early site state; it does not disclose the construction-contract price or prove retaining-wall installation, quay completion, berth acceptance, or cable load-out readiness.
SourceFinal investment moved the consented quay into funded delivery
Maraen announced the £30 million-plus final investment after securing planning consent and the marine licence, with a £10 million Highlands and Islands Enterprise grant. The decision funded the project boundary but did not establish physical marine works, completion timing, or accepted operating capacity.
SourceHIE approved up to £10 million of public support
Highlands and Islands Enterprise linked its support to the heavy-duty quay and Sumitomo cable-factory export route. The funding commitment established public backing and the intended industrial use; it was not a construction award, evidence of grant drawdown, or proof of cable-export operations.
SourceThe marine-licence proposal exposed the quay-wall concept
The owner described converting the existing eastern inner-dock rock revetment into a vertical retaining-wall quay. The proposal defined the marine-civil concept, while approval, final investment, contractor appointment, field execution, and acceptance remained separate later gates.
SourceEvidence gap
What remains unverified
Outstanding evidence
- Marine-civil mobilisation and retaining-wall construction
- Quay completion date and handover evidence
- Heavy-load pavement, Ro-Ro, fender, and mooring acceptance
- Berth geometry and any dredging or depth requirement
- Cable-factory-to-quay logistics and load-out trials
- First evidenced cable installation vessel operation
Sources and related records
Read featured analysis Methodology Submit a correction Project tracker
Source collections
Project sources 5
- Maraen Port of Nigg awards EIDQ construction contract to McLaughlin & Harvey Maraen Port of Nigg, 28 May 2026
- Eastern Inner Dock Quay marine licence Maraen Port of Nigg, 12 March 2025
- £30M-plus Port of Nigg investment approved Maraen, 26 March 2026
- Investing in the renewables revolution Highlands and Islands Enterprise, 17 March 2025
- Contract award for Maraen Port of Nigg McLaughlin & Harvey, 29 May 2026