A Concrete Sample Was Pulled from the New Panama Canal Locks and It Does Not Look Good

A core pattern pulled from the concrete of the Cocoli Locks the place cracks and leaks have appeared doesn’t bode nicely for the Panama Canal enlargement challenge, which is on a strict deadline for completion in April 2016.

The crack and subsequent leaks appeared just lately within the concrete of one of many inside chambers of the brand new Cocoli Locks on the Pacific aspect of the waterway throughout testing of the brand new locks.

According to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), the federal government company chargeable for the operation and administration of the Panama Canal and the enlargement challenge, the crack appeared within the “step”, or sill, of lockhead 3 (LH3), dividing the center chamber from the decrease chamber of the Cocoli Lock advanced.

UPDATE (28 AUG): An replace from the ACP on Friday mentioned that specialists from the Technological University of Panama (UTP) met with groups from the ACP on Thursday to examine the cracks. The ACP says it’s now awaiting a report from contractor GUPC which ought to embody the reason for the leaks and their proposed resolution. The specialists from UTP are on-hand to supply a technical opinion on the leaks and report as soon as launched.

Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), the primary contractor for the Third Set of Locks challenge, issued an announcement final Friday acknowledging the leaks, however has since gone quiet.

The ACP has mentioned beforehand that the primarily based on preliminary info the crack is just not anticipated to affect the opening of the brand new locks for industrial operations in April 2016 and that GUPC is solely chargeable for the profitable supply and efficiency of the brand new locks ‘without defects’.

“GUPC has the obligation to ensure the long-term performance on all aspects of the construction of the locks and to correct this issue,” the ACP mentioned in an announcement earlier this week. “Moreover, GUPC’s contract with the ACP dictates that the group is responsible for modifications and corrections,” it added.

Neither the ACP or GUPC have gone into element nonetheless in regards to the scope of the problem or repairs wanted.

The Third Set of Locks challenge, the primary part of the $5.25 billion enlargement challenge, entails the development of latest, greater lock complexes on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Panama Canal, which can enable bigger ships to transit and successfully double the capability of the well-known waterway.

For the 2 new lock complexes, a complete of 4.4 million cubic meters of concrete needed to be poured, greater than the 3.4 million cubic meters used for the present Panama Canal.

GUPC was one in every of three pre-qualified worldwide consortiums bidding on the tender for the design and building of the Third Set of Locks, a young course of that concerned a radical technical and pricing analysis. The contract winner was chosen primarily based on the “non-negotiated best value proposal”, i.e. the one which obtained the very best mixed rating for his or her Price Proposal and Technical Proposal utilizing a weighted mannequin the place the Technical Proposal was assigned 55 % of the full rating and the Price Proposal was assigned 45 % of the full rating.

Ultimately, GUPC was chosen because the winner with the very best technical rating and lowest whole (fastened) value proposal at $3.221 billion. The contract for the challenge was awarded the contract on July 15, 2009 and work started the next month.

The opening of the expanded Panama Canal was initially scheduled for 2014 to coincide with the 100 12 months anniversary of the opening of the present Panama Canal, however value overruns and delays have pushed the opening to April 2016… at the least because it stands now.

GUPC is a consortium made up of Sacyr Vallehermoso of Spain as its head, with Impregilo of Italy, Jan De Nul of Belgium and Constructura Urbana, SA (CUSA) of Panama.

Below is a few video of the leaks: