The 14,000m³ trailing suction hopper dredger Pedro Álvares Cabral has arrived at the Barranquilla Port and is ready to begin dredging of the port’s access channel.
According to Luis Fernando Andrade, director of Cormagdalena, the dredger arrived yesterday from Jamaica and is ready to start the work in Barranquilla.
The Colombian river management authority estimates that during the works, the dredger Pedro Álvares Cabral will remove approximately 320,000 cubic meters of sediment, which will improve the conditions of the access channel.
Following the completion of the project, the improved conditions will allow large draft vessels to safely navigate in and out of the port area.
René Puche, president of the Port of Barranquilla , commented the news saying that this project is of great relevance for the economic development of the country. “ The Port of Barranquilla has an great impact on the economy of the region, so maintaining the Magdalena River and the competitiveness of the port is very important.”
The Port of Barranquilla is located on the Atlantic coast of Colombia, on the western margin of the Magdalena River. Because the river generates a continuous sedimentation it reduces the necessary draft for vessels and requires continuous dredging.
The main bottlenecks is created at the kilometer 22 of the river, where majority of the works will take place.