FCC is building the expansion of the Açu Superport, which lies about 315 kilometres north of Rio de Janeiro.
The project has a price tag of over 407 million euros and a completion period of 32 months. The contract calls for FCC to build Terminal TX-1 in Açu, which is located in São João da Barra, in north-eastern Brazil, an area that produces 85% of the country’s gas and oil. The terminal is an extension of a recently built quay that requires a new breakwater before it can be put into operation.
FCC is the leader of the consortium that will be taking on the project, a complex job of civil engineering, as the sheer magnitude of the job shows. A 2,438-metre-long caisson-type quay will be built, which will involve the manufacturing and sinking of 49 reinforced-concrete caissons, plus a 600-metre rubble mound breakwater. The huge caissons are an average of 45 metres long, 24 metres across and 18 to 29 metres deep.
The new breakwater is going to be tricky to build. Its first nine caissons will be cast in Algeciras, Cádiz, because Açu does not yet have the necessary facilities. These caissons will be moved from Algeciras to Açu in semi-submersible vessels. During their 15-day crossing they will cover 4,300 nautical miles (the equivalent of 7,960 kilometres).
[mappress]
Dredging Today Staff, April 26, 2013