COLOMBIA: Approved dredging for the Barranquilla Port Area Access Channel
According to la República, the dredging plan to guarantee navigability in the access channel to the Barranquilla Port Area was approved this week. The working groups were supported by the Office of the General Controller of the Republic and the participation of the port union and the District of Barranquilla, the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Rio Grande de la Magdalena (Cormagdalena), the Territorial Development Bank (Findeter), the Consortium Shanghai-Ingecon and the interventors.
The work plan includes the continuation of the dredging from kilometer 12 to 15 inside the access channel, in addition to continuing with the development in the Bocas de Cenizas sector, the turning areas, and other sectors in which the Maritime Authority recommends prioritizing due to the presence of sediments.
The dredging contract started on March 6 and will end on December 31, 2020; Cormagdalena is carrying it out together with Findeter’s technical assistance. According to the audit report presented by Nubia Constanza Galindo, delegate comptroller of participatory fiscal control strategies, until May 27 the companies had managed to extract 433,000 cubic meters of sediment at different priority points.
The director of Cormagdalena, Pedro Pablo Jurado, indicated that the plan that will continue to be developed received support from the port union and the Barranquilla District. In this regard, he stated that “What we want to see is cargo at port terminals. The priority of the National Government and the Minister of Transportation, Angela María Orozco, is that the new hiring model for dredging has positive results for the country and, in particular, for the city of Barranquilla in terms of port activity, economic dynamism and job creation ”.
Liliana María Zapata, alternate president and General Secretary of Findeter, also emphasized that the objectives of the project must be established in order to measure the results and control the dredging process. “We believe that a dredging plan shared and known to all stakeholders allows us to objectively monitor dredging results and the contractor’s management,” said Zapata.
The draft enabled for the entry of ships between Boca de Cenizas and kilometer 12 increased to 9.8 meters thanks to the sectors where the dredging plan for the removal of sediments has been prioritized. Additionally, the work during the last week resulted in between kilometer 12 to 15 the extraction of 107,000 cubic meters of the 252,000 of anticipated sediments.
Progress of the dredging work
The work is carried out by the Hang Jun 5001 dredger will be outlined below:
– Sector K14 (k13 + 500 to K15 + 000) 157,000 m3 of sediment were removed (between March 7 and March 16, 2020).
– In the Bocas de Ceniza sector (maritime and fluvial sector) a total of 169,000 m3 have been dredged. (between March 19 to May 19).
– Sector K14 (K12 + 800 to K15 + 200) 107,000 m3 of the planned 252,000 m3 have been dredged. (between May 19 and 27).
– A total of 433,000 cubic meters of sediment removed so far.
