Boskalis Awarded Contract for Martín García Channel

In December, the Comision Administradora del Rio de la Plata (CARP) awarded Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) a 5-year contract for the capital and maintenance dredging of the Martín García channel, located between Uruguay and Argentina in the northern part of the 50-kilometer-wide Rio de la Plata estuary. The contract carries a total value for the 50/50 joint venture with DEME of approximately EUR 110 million. The Martín García channel is the main access channel to Uruguay’s second largest port, Nueva Palmira, as well as to the Rio Uruguay. The main objective of the dredging program is to deepen the canal and subsequently maintain a depth of 34 feet over the contract period. The capital dredging work will be performed in 2018, when approximately 6 million cubic meters (7.8 million cubic yards) of mainly sand and silt will be removed with two trailing suction hopper dredges, as well as approximately 500,000 cubic meters (654,000 cubic yards) of clay and rock with a large backhoe. The maintenance contract requires the annual removal of approximately 5 million cubic meters (6.5 million cubic yards) of mainly sand and silt, over a subsequent period of four years and will be carried out with a trailing suction hopper dredge.