Jan De Nul Receives Panama Entrance Contract

On September 28 the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced that Jan De Nul n.v. has been awarded the contract to dredge the Canal’s Atlantic entrance.

Jan De Nul’s bid was $89617317.

The tender included an option to dredge an additional 2.3 million cubic meters. The ACP has 45 days to decide if it exercises the option. Jan De Nul’s bid on the option was $16411600.

Other bidders were: China Harbour Engineering Co. – $116732224; Van Oord Dredging – $ 162182828; Boskalis-Dredging International Joint Venture – $177611840; Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. – $195943129.

The dredging project is an element of the Canal’s Expansion Program.

“We are pleased with the competition for this contract for which several premier dredging firms from around the world (Europe United States and Asia) submitted proposals” said Jorge L. Quijano ACP’s Executive Vice President of Engineering and Program Management. “Not only has the ACP benefited from a competitive price that is within the estimated budget but it is also assured of an effective high quality execution. The winning company has previously dredged in this area of the Canal; this is why it has the proven capacity to execute this contract without any difficulty.”

The project will deepen the 13.8-kilometer channel to 15.5 meters below *Mean Low Water (MLW) and involves dredging approximately 14.8 million cubic meters and excavating 800 thousand cubic meters. The work also includes widening the channel from the existing 198 meters to a minimum of 225 meters and the north approach channel to a minimum of 218 meters.

The ACP released its request for proposals for the Atlantic entrance dredging February 27 and held site visits and a pre-tender meeting from April through July. Submissions were received September 9.

The Atlantic entrance dredging is one of several key expansion projects. 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. The ACP expects expansion to be completed by 2014.

*Mean Low Water (MLW) is the average of the low tides which are the reference levels for hydrographic information survey works and data.