Boskalis-DEME Joint Venture Wins Martin Garcia Dredging Contract

Construction of Canal Martin Garcia in the early nineties, Image source: DEME

Boskalis has been awarded a 5-year contract by the Comision Administradora del Rio de la Plata (CARP), for the capital and maintenance dredging of the Martin Garcia channel.

This contract carries a total value for the 50/50 joint venture with DEME of approximately EUR 110 million and signing is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

The Martín García channel, located between Uruguay and Argentina in the northern part of the 50-kilometer-wide Rio de la Plata estuary, is the main access channel to Uruguay’s second largest port, Nueva Palmira, as well as to the Rio Uruguay.

The main objective of the dredging program is to deepen the canal and subsequently maintain a depth of 34 feet over the contract period.

The capital dredging work will be performed in 2018, when approximately 6 million cubic meters of mainly sand and silt will be removed with two trailing suction hopper dredgers as well as approximately 500,000 cubic meters of clay and rock with a large backhoe.

The maintenance contract requires the annual removal of approximately 5 million cubic meters of mainly sand and silt, over a subsequent period of four years and will be carried out with a trailing suction hopper dredger.

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