ACP receives bids for fourth dry excavation of Panama Canal

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) received four bids for the contract for the fourth dry excavation (PAC-4) as part of the waterway’s expansion programme.

Following the receipt of the bids in December, the ACP will now analyse the technical and financial submissions and award the contract in the coming weeks.

Similar to the three prior dry excavation projects, the ACP will award the contract to the firm with the lowest-priced bid that meets all of the requirements stated in the request for proposals.

“As the second largest expansion contract, PAC-4 represents the most complex project after the construction of the new set locks,” ACP Executive Vice President of Engineering and Program Management Jorge L Quijano said. “As usual, this will undergo the same fair, rigorous and transparent contracting process.”

The fourth dry excavation project represents a key portion of expansion’s new access channel linking the new Pacific locks with the Gaillard Cut (the narrowest stretch of the Panama Canal).

The scope of work will include 26 million cubic metres of unclassified excavation, the installation of a backfilled cellular cofferdam water barrier and the construction of an earth-rock filled dam that will create part of the access channel’s eastern bank.

Other work under this contract will include:

Constructing access roads
Managing disposal site areas for excavated or dredged material
Installing a dewatering system to remove surface and underground water
Clearing unexploded ordnances (UXOs) – remnants from former US military training facilities in the Canal area
Other miscellaneous tasks such as demolition work
The expansion will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks which will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships.

Source: Baird Maritime