Bouygues Travaux Publics, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, has won a contract to design and construct three cryogenic tanks for LNG (liquefied natural gas) in Dunkirk, in partnership with Entrepose Contracting (leader). The contract was signed with Dunkerque LNG, a subsidiary of EDF. 

The three cryogenic tanks, offering a total capacity of 570,000 m³, form part of a larger project for an LNG storage and regasification terminal. 

Bouygues Travaux Publics will be responsible for constructing the external walls of the tanks in post-tensioned concrete, as well as their foundations. Each tank will be 91 metres in diameter and 50 metres tall, making them among the largest ever built in the world. An on-site ready-mix concrete plant will make it possible to reduce noise and traffic caused by concrete trucks. Bouygues Travaux Publics will apply stringent standards with regard to the conservation of flora and fauna at the Le Clipon site and employ all the necessary measures to meet ambitious targets set by Dunkerque LNG with regard to site safety. 

The works will begin early next year and will last three and a half years. 350 people will be involved in peak periods, one hundred of them hired locally. 

This major project marks the return of Bouygues Travaux Publics to the LNG cryogenic tank market. The company has previously completed a number of projects, including tanks in Ras-Laffan, Qatar, in 1996 and Damiette, Egypt, in 2004.