CE Field Visit to King Abdulaziz Sea Port (KASP) in Dammam May 14, 2008

 Within the on-going efforts of the Civil Engineering Department at KFUPM to strengthen its professional links with the various key national organizations in the Kingdom, the Civil Engineering Promotion Committee on May 14, 2008 organized a field trip for the Civil Engineering students and faculty to the King Abdulaziz Sea Port (KASP) in Dammam.  The trip included the Chairman of the Committee and two of its members (Dr. S. Alghamdi; Dr. T. Bader, Dr. S. Aldulaijan) accompanied by a group of CE-students.  The team was well-received by the public relations department at KASP and Mr. Fahd Almousa (Director of Public Relations) briefed the team about the pivotal role of the second largest (after Jeddah Islamic Port) sea port in the development of the Kingdom and indicated that KFUPM CE-graduates would find KASP a most suitable place to seek job opportunities when they graduate.

 Later the team met with the Director of Technical Affairs Department (TAD) at KASP-Dammam (Eng. Amar Q. Al-Dayel, “A KFUPM graduate”), who briefed the team on the main role of his department for the development of Design/Construction Specifications at KASP, and on its role in the analysis, design, and construction quality-assurance and follow-up of key project currently in progress. The team (accompanied by Eng. Al-Dayel) also toured the various sections of this important department at KASP.  The team also later toured several parts of the port including: i) King Fahd Ship Repair Yard (KFSRY) which comprises one of the most significant facilities of its kind in the Gulf and covers about 15 ha including workshops alongside repair berths; (ii) a bird-view and overview of the busy operations yard; iii) tour of the KASP-showroom that documents the continuous development of the port over the years; and iv) watching a documentary film highlighting the development of KASP and the pivotal role it plays in creating the industrial infrastructure.