Belgian firm Jan De Nul has completed dredging work on the Uruguay River and now it is up to the buoyage services of the navigable fleets of Uruguay and Argentina to plan the navigability marking of the section between Nueva Palmira, where it meets the Río de la Plata, and Paysandú, reported the vice president of the Uruguayan delegation to the administrative commission of that river, Rogelio Texeira.
The project entrusted to the Uruguay River Administrative Commission (CARU) by the two member states This included dredging to open the border river course, maintenance and marking between Nueva Palmira, a port in the department of Colonia, and Fray Bentos, at a navigation depth of 23 feet (seven meters), which requires removing up to 25 feet of water, explained Texeira, after informing the Secretariat of Institutional Communication about the completion of these works.
Conception of Uruguay – Fray Bentos
The dredging of the Belgian company Jan De Nul, which completed its task last week, included the access channel to the port of Concepción del Uruguay and those located between Fray Bentos and Paysandú, at 17 feet (more than five meters) of navigation and 19 of depth.
The work was carried out by the suction vessel Amerigo Vespucci, suitable for dredging soft bottoms composed of sand and clay. The vessel, which was built in 1985, has a length of 97,7 metres, a beam of 17,1 metres and a hopper capacity of 3.500 cubic metres.
At this time, the Oceanography, Hydrography and Meteorology Service of the Navy of Uruguay and the Buoyage Service of Argentina are organizing the installation of 120 new buoys in the dredged sections and the replacement of some lighting devices in the section of the river between Nueva Palmira and Paysandú, the interviewee reported.
Maintenance in 2019
Starting next year and for the next three years, the successful bidder will maintain the river, to ensure commercial navigation. Both phases will require a total investment, contributed in half by both countries, of 40 million dollars, which includes the signalling system.
Texeira said that the completion of dredging and beaconing of the Uruguay River will coincide with the 40th anniversary of CARU, which also includes the inauguration of the expansion works in the office, laboratory and conference room areas at the agency's headquarters in the city of Paysandú.
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