PMFORUM Breaking News
Breaking News in the Project Management World
Monday, April 14, 2008
Dredging contract for Panama Canal Expansion awarded
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has awarded the third and largest expansion contract to dredge the Pacific sea entrance. The ACP kicked off this next phase of expansion awarding the contract to Dredging International of Belgium on Tuesday, April 1, 2008. The bid was at US$177 million. The Expansion Program will build a new lane along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, which will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships.
The dredging of the Pacific sea entrance will provide enough draft and width for longer, wider ships to pass and enter the new locks. Dredging work in the Pacific sea entrance is expected to begin during the third quarter of this calendar year. When expansion concludes, the dredging project will widen the Canal's approximate 9 mile-long (14 km) navigation channels to a minimum of 715 feet (218 meters) and deepen them to a maximum level of -51 feet (-15.5 meters) Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS).
"As the third and largest expansion program contract in terms of volume, geographical spread and price awarded to date, the selection of Dredging International is a critical next step in the creation of the new lane. This is a solid, top-tier global dredging firm with the know-how and equipment we need to commence the job at hand and complete it on-time and within budget," said ACP Executive Vice President Engineering and Program Management Jorge Quijano. "We received bids from some of the industry's dredging leaders and now we look forward to issuing the order to proceed to Dredging International over the coming days so that they can begin their mobilization effort promptly."
Dredging International is one of the most important dredging companies in the world and its proposal for the Panama Canal includes the utilization of some of the most advanced equipment that the industry has to offer at the global level. Dredging International is also working on other important projects around the word such as the construction of Port 2000 in Havre, France and the deepening of channels in Rio de la Plata located at the Argentina and Uruguay border.
The ACP is the semi-autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the ACP is based on its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the ACP's Web site: http://www.pancanal.com. For more information, visit http://www.pancanal.com/.
"As the third and largest expansion program contract in terms of volume, geographical spread and price awarded to date, the selection of Dredging International is a critical next step in the creation of the new lane. This is a solid, top-tier global dredging firm with the know-how and equipment we need to commence the job at hand and complete it on-time and within budget," said ACP Executive Vice President Engineering and Program Management Jorge Quijano. "We received bids from some of the industry's dredging leaders and now we look forward to issuing the order to proceed to Dredging International over the coming days so that they can begin their mobilization effort promptly."
Dredging International is one of the most important dredging companies in the world and its proposal for the Panama Canal includes the utilization of some of the most advanced equipment that the industry has to offer at the global level. Dredging International is also working on other important projects around the word such as the construction of Port 2000 in Havre, France and the deepening of channels in Rio de la Plata located at the Argentina and Uruguay border.
The ACP is the semi-autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the ACP is based on its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the ACP's Web site: http://www.pancanal.com. For more information, visit http://www.pancanal.com/.
