The gates will likely be sliding gates, rather
than the swinging variety like those used in
the current locks. Sliding gates allow more
efficient use of water, because they are more
watertight. Because each gate in a pair of gates
will be at least 90 feet wide and 60 feet deep,
they will probably be built in sections and
shipped to Panama for assembly and installa-
tion in the locks.
“I don’t think you could move the whole
gate as one unit on a regular conventional ship,”
Nagel said. “They would have to be carried on
a dedicated barge or a semi-submersible.”
One commodity the breakbulk carriers
may miss out on is cement. “Because of the
increase in construction of high-rise condos
and office buildings in Panama City, there
are a number of firms in Panama that supply
cement and building materials,” said Robert
McMillan, a former chairman of the Panama
Canal Commission when the canal was under
U.S. administration. “Look at a photo of Pan-
ama City’s skyline and you’d be hard-pressed
to tell the difference between it and cities in
Germany, France or the U. S.”
McMillan said the new locks are not
the only project in Panama that will attract
project cargo. Two new terminals are in
the planning stages on the Pacific coast.
PSA International of Singapore has signed a
contract to develop a $600 million terminal
in the former Rodman Naval Base near the
entrance to the Pacific side of the canal.
Panama’s Maritime Authority and the Panama Canal Authority also are in discussions with terminal operators about building a second port in the Farfan area, near the former Howard Air Force Base.
Panama Canal Authority
Three of the group’s subcontractors for design specialize in water treatment and dam-building, underscoring the importance the canal authority places on conservation of water used in the new locks.
The contractors and subcontractors are deep in talks about the final design and sourcing for the locks, and won’t release details until next month.
Machinery and gates for the locks , the project’s largest components, will be manufactured by the Netherlands’ Heerema Fabrication Group. Heerema owns two construction yards in the Netherlands, one in the U.K. and a diversified engineering company in the U. S.
The new locks will be 1,400 feet long by 180 feet wide, almost 50 percent larger than the current locks, and will have a water depth of 60 feet, compared with the current 42 feet.
McMillan is author of “Global Passage: Transformation of Panama and the Panama Canal,” which he has updated to include the election of Panama’s fifth democratically elected president. Ricardo Martinelli, who took office on July 1, pledged during his campaign to build a new subway in traffic-congested Panama City, which would require transport of excavating equipment and subway cars.
“Martinelli is addressing the infrastructure of Panama at the same time as the canal expansion,” McMillan said. JOC
Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com.
WHEN THE PANAMA Canal Authority this month awarded its $3.1 billion contract for the design and construction of the canal’s third set of locks, there were actually two winners.
The first was Consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal, the European-Panamanian venture that won the construction contract. The second, collectively, were the breakbulk and project cargo carriers that will move the heavy machinery and materials needed to build the locks.
For carriers, the opportunity couldn’t come at a better time, as orders for supplying other big construction and engineering projects taper off because of the global recession.
“Shh! Don’t tell anyone about it. We’re trying to keep it a secret, but there will be major equipment moving, because there are no fabrication sources in Panama that we know of,” said Jerry Nagel, president and CEO of Rickmers-Linie (America), the Houston-based subsidiary of the German ocean carrier. “Everyone is going to wind up as a subcontractor, so we’re going to be looking at that project as one of our major thrusts.”
The industry won’t know whether materials will be sourced from the U.S., Asia or Europe until the detailed design engineering is complete. Nagel said Rickmers’ regular round-the-world liner service, which runs through the canal, would enable it to transport gate components or equipment for the project from Asia, Europe or U. S. Gulf ports without having to divert any of its vessels.
The winning bidder consists of lead contractor Sacyr Vallehermoso of Spain, Impregilo of Italy, Jan De Nul of Belgium and Constructora Urbana of Panama.
References:
Archives