Two Argentinian banks, Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior (BICE) and Banco Macro last Friday (March 8) signed a $32.2 million financing agreement for the deepening of the Port of Quequén, Buenos Aires.
According to the officials, the deal was signed in the presence of the Management Consortium of Puerto Quequén, Dr Arturo Rojas; Minister Dr. Javier Tizado; Bob Michta, Manager Argentina Office of Jan De Nul; and the representatives of Banco Macro and BICE.
They also added that in the coming days, Jan De Nul’s trailing suction hopper dredger ‘Kaishuu’ will begin its mobilization, and arrive at the port before the end of the month to begin the tasks of removing the soft material.
Also engaged in the project will be JDN’s cutter suction dredger ‘Ibn Battuta’ that will arrive at the Port of Quequén in mid-April to dredge hard material from the port basin and the inner channel.
Last year, Jan De Nul Group was awarded two major dredging contracts in Argentina. The first contract is for the 50-feet dredging project in the Port of Quequén and the second one is for the maintenance dredging of the Port of Bahía Blanca, awarded to a consortium comprising Jan De Nul and Boskalis.
The dredging works in the Port of Quequén will allow the port to reduce waiting times, optimize processes and minimize costs. These works fit within the Port’s 2016-2026 Strategic Plan, aiming at a port depth of approximately 50 feet.
After completion of the dredging project, Jan De Nul will maintain the depth of the port during 12 maintenance campaigns over a 7-year period. The overall depth of the port will then be increased to a final depth of 50 feet.