- Post-Panamax Locks
- Pacific Access Channel
- Navigational Channel Improvements
- Water Supply Improvements
- Program Administration
- Program Financing
During this period Grupo Unidos por el Canal S.A. (GUPCSA) continued working on concrete mix designs as well as pouring marine structural concrete and mass concrete in diverse lock structures in both sites. Issues related to the quality of poured concrete continue to be reported; in general, the concrete mixes for both, structural marine concrete and mass concrete were designed with poor consolidation, making vibration and compaction difficult. This is particularly so for mass concrete, which contains large aggregates. GUPCSA has acknowledged this issue and is currently in the process of developing modified and new mixes that, while continuing to comply with the permeability requirements have more workability. This includes pumpable structural concrete mixes with better consolidation characteristics. In December, GUPCSA delivered four marine structural concrete mixes that have been modified to have more workability. All design-mix related information submitted by the contractor is still under review. This information is expected to be complete and accurate so that a positive determination on concrete acceptability can be made.
In October the design overview team received three final lock gate designs – one for the lakeside gates and another for the ocean-side gates for the Atlantic side, and the third one for lakeside gates for the Pacific side. Order to proceed as indicated was issued for final Type A and Type F lock gate designs, while the design for Type D lock gates received the order to proceed as indicated and resubmit. Also received was the final design for the Type E lock gate, which was the last gate to be designed. All other final gate designs have been submitted.
On November 16, 2011, members of the geotechnical team visited and found some leaks in the interface area between the main cofferdam at the Pacific entrance and the East lateral cofferdam. A workshop was held at Cocoli on November 24, with SC Sembenelli Consulting (geotechnical designer subcontracted by GUPCSA for the cofferdam) to discuss filtration control measures for the main cofferdam at the Pacific entrance and the Miraflores cofferdam.
NDE Associates Inc. (NDE), subcontracted by CH2M Hill Panamá S. de R.L., continues to supervise, at the facilities of Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Company Ltd., in South Korea, the fabrication of lock valves and associated elements; and more recently at Cimolai S.p.A., facilities in Pordenone, Italy, where the lock gates are manufactured. In preparation to start full valve production, Hyundai completed the first conduit valve prototype. On November 14, 2011 a pre-inspection valve fabrication meeting was held between Hyundai, SGS S.A. (GUPCSA’s quality assurance subcontractor), NDE, and CH2M Hill. Fabrication of the first six valves began in December.
Regarding the gate work by Cimolai, the fitting up and welding of skin plates for the bottom buoyancy section of the first Type B gate is moving forward. NDE’s subcontractor Tecnotest (an Italian testing firm) conducted random ultrasound test on the welding works and found no irregularities. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) assigned a resident engineer to the project to follow up on all fabrication works. GUPCSA also subcontracted SGS, S. A. for on-site quality assurance monitoring of Cimolai’s quality management program and fabrication processes. On a related matter, Grupo Corporativo Saret S. A., a subcontractor of GUPCSA in Costa Rica, completed the first-stage rail embedments for the rolling gates.
On November 24, 2011, the ACP performed an audit of the reinforcement steel manufacturer, ArcelorMittal, located in Mexico. The purpose was to follow up on a first audit carried out by GUPCSA in June 2011, which yielded a number of findings requiring corrections and follow-up. This audit determined that the steel supplier has taken care of all issues found during the previous audit and has made the improvements needed to maintain the quality required.
On the Pacific site, the contractor continued erecting its temporary facilities. At the industrial park the installation of the 24-inch wash water pipeline to the East of Cocoli River was completed; all wastewater treatment plants are operating. GUPCSA started building a warehouse to store silica fumes to the North of the concrete batching plants. All utilities relocated within contractor boundaries are under GUPCSA’s care. The maintenance of hauling roads is pressing on; and the construction of the 50-meter segment of the hauling road on the East side of the main cofferdam was resumed. All of the temporary cofferdam piezometers have been connected to receive information on groundwater conditions.
The total cumulative volume excavated and dredged on the Pacific site is approximately 9.4 million cubic meters, representing about 41% of the total volume. This material was removed from the upper, intermediate and lower lock chambers; lock heads 1 and 3; and the upper, intermediate and lower water saving basins. The total cumulative overburden excavation volume is about 4.2 million cubic meters; while the drilling and blasting volume is 2.5 million cubic meters; and the dredging volume is 2.7 million cubic meters.
On the Pacific site, a total of 76,881 cubic meters of marine structural concrete has been poured into the tunnels under chambers 1 and 2; in the East and West walls of the upper lock chamber; in the East and West walls of the intermediate lock chamber; and in lock heads 1 and 2. Shipments with built-in pieces and reinforced steel were received, for a cumulative of 666 and 30,824 tons, respectively. In connection to the construction of Borinquen 2E, 1W and 2W dams, geotechnical surveys were initiated during this period in the dams in order to obtain additional site characterization. GUPCSA subcontracted the excavation work for Borinquen dams and the north approach channel on the Pacific side. The ACP reviewed excavation and foundation treatment packages for all Borinquen dams. On the clearing of disposal sites 12, 13, and N3, which contained munitions and explosives of concern (MEC), the ACP finished ahead of schedule and transferred the sites to the contractor. A MEC cleanup was included in order to incorporate an additional 6.47-hectare area, so that GUPCSA makes better use of the site. This area pertains to sites N1-A and 2-A, which were cleaned and transferred to the contractor. GUPCSA started conducting geotechnical inspections in Sucre Hill, to the northeast of disposal site 13, in order to determine whether this area would fit as a clay and basalt source.
GUPCSA also continued establishing temporary facilities on the Atlantic site. The industrial park is in full operation, and minor improvements are performed as required. The construction of the rebar workshop was completed during this period, as well as the installation of the silica fumes storage tower for concrete batching plant A. Improvements to the area’s drainage, and the installation of an additional sediments tank for the park, continue. GUPCSA also carries on with maintenance pumping activities both to the North and South of the oceanside cofferdam, nearly bringing the water level to dry conditions in the northern area. Seventy dewatering pumps are operating to maintain the dry working conditions along the excavation. On the other hand, GUPCSA indicated that workers have started to stay at Mindi campsite, which is in full operation. The need for a phase-II campsite construction is still under evaluation.
The cumulative excavation volume for the Atlantic site is nearly 12.9 million cubic meters and was mainly performed in the intermediate and lower lock chambers and the water saving basins. Most of the work was done in areas within the lower chamber, as well as in the lower and intermediate water saving basins, the trifurcations, and the intermediate chamber wall and lock heads 3 and 4. The contractor completed the excavation for lock head 2 during this period. The excavation for the East Ramp was initiated as well; this will allow concrete works to begin at the upper lock chamber’s eastern side. Construction of drainage ditches continued on both the eastern and western sides of the excavation. GUPCSA kept developing a dewatering system to maintain the excavation in dry working conditions.
GUPCSA carried on pouring lean concrete as foundation treatment in the upper chamber areas; lock heads 1 and 2; the east and west walls of the intermediate chamber; duct 3; and the middle chamber’s floor. Permanent concrete placement continued in the upper chamber’s floor and west wall; ducts 1 and 2; the tunnels under chambers 1 and 2; lock head 2; and the middle chamber’s floor and east and west walls, reaching a total cumulative volume of 79,934 cubic meters. The total cumulative volume of aggregates transported from Cartagena on the Pacific side to the Atlantic site amounts to 912,249 tons. Meanwhile, reinforced steel delivered so far to the Atlantic amounts to 23,337 tons.
Regarding occupational safety, follow-up was given to previous formal audits. Preparations for future audits continue. On the other hand, the ACP continued following up on the implementation of the environmental plan’s mitigation measures stipulated in the environmental impact study and the National Environmental Authority (ANAM) resolution approving said study. Regular meetings are conducted with GUPCSA for this contractor to take corrective actions; also, constant site visits to make sure the required standards are applied.
The contractor for the fourth excavation phase for the Pacific access channel, ICA-FCC-Meco – a consortium formed by Ingenieros Civiles Asociados S.A. de C.V. (ICA), Fomentos de Construcciones y Contratas S.A. (FCC) and Constructora Meco S.A. (Meco) – has removed approximately 13.9 million cubic meters since the project started.
During this period, the contractor has placed a cumulative total of 62,000 cubic meters of rock fill in the inner structure of Borinquen 1E dam’s foundation. ICA-FCC-Meco continued developing activities such as dredging, dewatering, clay and rock piling, rock crushing for filters for the first Borinquen dam to the East (1E), placing instrumentation on finished excavation slopes, and buffering of areas already cleared of munitions and explosives of concern.
URS Holdings Inc. continued providing technical support and inspection services related to the construction of Borinquen 1E dam. The contractor and the ACP are conducting a joint review of the quality, quantity and location of the materials available to build the dam. The cement proposed by the contractor for the grout wall under the dam was rejected.
With regard to other contracts associated to the PAC4, the construction of a building for operational support in Pedro Miguel remains at a 77% rate, since Aseguradora Global S.A., after an attempt to assign a contractor to finish pending works, decided to make use of the performance bond and submitted the pertinent payment to the ACP on December 23, 2011. Thus, the contract is now closed and the ACP is evaluating a number of alternatives to finish these works. Meanwhile, the contract to relocate utilities and other works in Pedro Miguel locks, held by International Underground Corp., reached a 100% progress, including identified exceptions. And Grupo Howard S.A. continued building additional drainage systems and paving existing ones to the west of the access channel, reporting an 85% advance rate.
On November 18, 2011, the arbitration court issued a decision in favor of the ACP with regard to the claim for over $4 M filed by the contractor on June 15, 2010, based on alleged cost increases related to the goods and services tax increase.
Navigational Channel Improvements
Dredging International de Panamá S.A. (DI), the contractor responsible for deepening and widening the Pacific entrance, has removed an approximate 7.7 million cubic meters volume since the project started. All of these period’s dredging operations were performed near the Bridge of the Americas, with DI’s cutter-suction dredge D’Artagnan. The dredge’s cutting head gearbox broke down in October and, once repaired, was mobilized to Gatun Lake’s northern reaches dredging project. The D’Artagnan is expected to return to the Pacific entrance by mid February 2012 to complete pending control sectors.
Jan De Nul n.v. (JDN), the contractor in charge of dredging the Atlantic entrance, has dredged a total cumulative volume of around 17.4 million cubic meters. The contractor delivered control sector 2B on October 14, 2011 and sector 5B on October 28; the latter was delivered 18 months ahead of contract schedule. Control sectors 3A, 3B and 4A were delivered on November 11– the first two one year and the third one 16 months ahead of schedule.
With a combined production, the ACP and the contractors working under the project to dredge Gatun Lake and Culebra Cut reached a total cumulative volume of 15.9 million cubic meters. From this total, 10.5 million were removed by the ACP Dredging Division; nearly 2.9 million by Dredging International de Panamá S.A.; and about 2.5 million by Jan De Nul n.v. under the contract for the Lake’s northern reaches and the contract for the northern entrance to the Pacific access channel, respectively.
On other supplementary dredging activities in the Lake and the Cut, the ACP awarded a contract to Sociedad Española de Montajes Industriales S.A. for the construction of eight ranging towers with their respective concrete foundations and daytime signal boards, that will be used as aids to navigation in Gatun Lake’s Tabernilla and San Pablo reaches.
Initial-stage flooding of the areas excavated under the contract for the entrance of the access channel to connect Culebra Cut with the post-Panamax locks on the Pacific side started on 19 October with a commemorative ceremony. The remaining portions of the channel will be filled in 2013.
During this quarter, the amount of extended and reinstalled gates in Gatun Spillway remained the same – 9 and 7, respectively. This condition will be maintained until the dry season begins. On the other hand, the ACP continued testing the four prototype hydraulic cylinders to determine the characteristics required for these cylinders to be able to operate the miter gates at the existing locks under the semi-submerged conditions they will be exposed to once the level of the lake is raised. Another component under evaluation is the yoke seal for the existing miter gates, to ensure water tightness at the uppermost connection between the lock walls and the miter gates at Pedro Miguel locks, and in the upper chambers of Gatun when the gates are closed. Testing of yoke seals in Miraflores Locks in December 2011 had satisfactory results and the ACP Engineering Division will submit final designs during the next period.
The ACP awarded a contract to enhance the ventilation in the lock tunnels at Pedro Miguel and Gatun. The Engineering Division submitted the final report and design for the conductor-slot drainage system; final drawings and specs for the watertight doors and bulkheads to seal the hydraulic cylinder room and float wells were modified, and will be ready for opening the bidding process by the end of the next period. Additionally, the design and specifications for the rubber boot component to seal the lock-chamber side of the cylinder room will be forwarded to start the relevant bidding process.
Another activity underway is the coordination of mitigation actions for the affectations caused by the project to third parties; for this purpose, the ACP conducted field visits to evaluate the project’s impact on Lagartera Grande, La Arenosa, Escobal, Cuipo, Nuevo Porvenir, Ciricito Arriba, La Leona and communities located in the vicinity of Lagarterita, and their conditions.
The contractor continued to render program management services as stipulated and in coordination with the ACP. As part of these services, CH2M Hill Panamá S. de R.L. also continued providing supervisory and inspection services during the lock-valves fabrication process in South Korea, as well as during the fabrication of lock-gates in Italy.
During this quarter Mayer Brown LLP, contractor that provides legal advisory services related to international contracts, advised on diverse topics regarding the execution of the locks contract and the application of the clauses in it. Some of the topics consulted were: the applicability of the price adjustment clauses upon tax laws modifications; and the applicability of certain contractual terms in connection with the quality of the works and the performance of the locks contractor, among other.
The independent environmental consultant Environmental Resources Management Panamá S.A. submitted the final version of its sixth biannual social and environmental monitoring report. Archaeological inspections were conducted in the PAC4 project area; the Pacific locks project site; and Dock 45. The axis of a wagon wheel, from the era of the construction of the Canal by the French, was found in the Dock 45. Meanwhile, paleontological activities focused on analyzing vertebrate remains were conducted at Culebra Cut; the Atlantic locks site; and the areas of Lirio, Lirio Norte, and Hodges.
The ACP received a delegation from the International Finance Corporation and addressed a number of project-related topics during two days of meetings and a site visit. Meanwhile the ACP, in compliance with its obligations, made commitment-fee payments to the Interamerican Development Bank, the Andean Corporation for Development and the International Finance Corporation; and, also, debt-service payments to the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation and the European Investment Bank. The date agreed upon for the third annual visit by the lenders is February 8 through 10, 2012; and the ACP furnished the lenders with the required financial, operational, environmental, and progress reports for the Expansion Program.
