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A consortium formed by Morelco, a subsidiary of Peruvian construction firm Graña y Montero, has won a $149M contract to deliver the Regional Transmission System located in the Colombian Atlantic Coast.The contract has been awarded by the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) — an entity of the Ministry of Mines and Energy responsible for the design, supplies procurement, construction, operation and maintenance of the electrical reinforcement of Guajira Province.
KfW IPEX-Bank and Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) have agreed to provide a $160M loan for the construction of the Peralta wind farm in Uruguay.The wind farm — located in the municipality of Cuchilla de Peralta in the department of Tacuarembó in central Uruguay — is being built by German wind turbine manufacturer Enercon and will have a total installed capacity of 117.5MW.Peralta will feature 50 Enercon E-92 wind turbines including a hub height of 108m, a rotor diameter of 92m and an output of 2,350kW per turbine. It will produce enough energy to supply around 150,000 Uruguayan households.The power produced in the facility will be sold to the national energy supplier Administración Nacional de Usinas y Trasmisiones Eléctricas (UTE), which signed a power purchase agreement for a period of 20 years. KfW IPEX-Bank management board member Markus Scheer said: “German and European wind technology is in demand internationally. This is a great opportunity — both for manufacturers and the environment. As a bank, we do our part in helping ideas and projects take concrete shape.”
“We did it. We – the Vogel family from Boise, Idaho – did it. We did the impossible, and I couldn’t be happier that we did,” wrote Nancy Sathre-Vogel, in her family blog, when she and her family reached Ushuaia, in Argentina.Eight years ago, John and Nancy Vogel left their teaching jobs, took their twin boys out of school, bought two single bikes and a tandem and embarked on a journey to cycle the Pan-American Highway.The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads, extending from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. According to the Guinness World Records, the 48,000km highway, which runs through the North and South American continents, is the world’s longest ‘motorable road’.The highway comprises official and unofficial sections. The official section runs from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to Buenos Aires, Argentina, while the unofficial sections can be found to both the north and south of the official route.The route — including the official and unofficial sections — spreads across 14 countries: the USA, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina.However, if you are thinking in cycling or driving all the way down until Ushuaia without stopping — except to rest, sleep or eat — take that out of your mind.The route is interrupted by a 160km-wide break, named the Darién Gap, between Central and South America.The Pan-American Highway is for many the ultimate road trip and here — as part of the WCN’s Roads Week — we provide you with everything you need to know, so you can start, if you fancy the challenge, your ‘little’ adventure.
Tecna, a subsidiary of Isolux Corsan, has secured an EPC contract from Argentina’s Comision Nacional de Energia Atómica (CNEA) for the balance of plant of the CAREM 25 nuclear power plant project in Argentina.
Wind and solar energy firm Mainstream Renewable Power has secured contracts from the National Energy Commission of Chile to build and operate seven wind energy plants, worth a total of $1.65bn.
China Horse Club affiliate DSH Caribbean Star has signed an agreement with the government of Saint Lucia to develop a $2.6bn resort and lifestyle complex on the island.The project, named The ‘Pearl of the Caribbean’, will be located on a 700-acre site.It will include a marina, racecourse, resort and shopping mall complex, casino, Free Trade Zone, extensive entertainment and leisure facilities, eco-tourism as well as architecturally-designed villas and apartments.China Horse Club believes that the project is expected to play a lead role in the development of a new horse industry in Saint Lucia. The development, when completed, will accommodate more than 1,000 racehorses and have the capacity to hold racing carnivals.Construction on the development’s initial phase is set to begin in 2017 and create between 500-800 construction jobs.
With a burgeoning market for hydropower development, tunnelling work is seeing an uptick in South America’s third largest country. Nicole Robinson looks at two recent projects.The World Bank released a report in 2010 to help the Peruvian government in assessing the potential role of hydropower in the energy sector and the measures that could be taken to encourage its continued development as appropriate. Hydropower has been the major source of electricity in Peru, traditionally supplying more than 80% of requirements, and serving as a source of independent generation for major mines and industries.However, as the report explains, in the early 1990s efforts turned to natural gas and the government began providing incentives for its use in power generation: "This resulted in a virtual moratorium on hydropower development as a result of the very low price of natural gas (below economic cost)."Over the next decade, with the development of export markets for gas and increased attention to the impacts of climate change, the Government returned its attention to hydropower. The Peruvian government completed its National Energy Plan 2014-2025, which calls for electricity to comprise 60% renewable sources by 2025, with 54% coming from hydropower.The International Hydropower Association called Peru a regional leader in small hydropower projects. In its 2015 Hydropower Status report it estimates Peru has hydropower potential of at least 70GW, "of which only 3.8GW have been tapped so far."In 2014 Peru added 199MW, ranking it among the top 20 countries installing capacity at number 17 —Canada comes in at number three and the US at number 16.The market potential for hydro construction in Peru has captivated the likes of Odebrecht, whose subsidiary Empresa de Generación Huallaga (EGH) is developing the 462MW Chaglla power plant, which will be country's third biggest hydropower project upon opening, scheduled for this year.Norwegian company Statkraft opened its ninth hydropower plant in Peru, the Cheves Hydropower Project, this autumn. "The opening of Cheves consolidates Statkraft's position among the largest power producers in Peru," says Statkraft's executive vice president of International Hydropower, Asbjørn Grundt. "It also underlines our ambition to further strengthen our position as a leading international provider of pure energy. Our efforts in South-America play a very important role in this strategy,"Chaglla’s bypassLocated between the districts of Chaglla and Chinchao, some 420m from Lima, the Chaglla Hydroelectric Power Plant has 406MW of installed capacity. The plant is the result of an investment made by Odebrecht Energia of $1.bn, with support from the Brazilian Development Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, among others.The project will also feature a small power house, including a power transformer with an output of 6MW. "Chaglla will be one of the largest hydroelectrical power plants in Peru and it will represent almost 8% of the current consumption of energy of this country," says Erlon Arfelli, manager of Odebrecht Energia in Peru.Construction started in May 2011, with Sandvik supplying six DT820-SC tunnelling jumbos for the excavation at Chaglla. Underground construction includes a spillway composed of three tunnels for a total length of 2,838m, 14.5m x 12.6m-high. The 14.7.km-long intake tunnel is horseshoe-shaped with a 7.6m diameter.One of the most important works in the project is bypassing the Huallaga River, which contractors performed through a trunk tunnel of 12.5m diameter, 1,125m long. Odebrecht says the work concluded nine months prior to the scheduled date. The bypass tunnel, a significant step for the project, allowing the dam to be constructed in the former riverbed.Odebrecht says EGH began filling the reservoir on September 1, 2015, and expects the process to last between 45 and 60 days. The project's lenders appointed Mott MacDonald in 2013 as independent engineer to monitor construction.
A consortium led by Eiffage Génie Civil has been awarded a €200M contract by the French government space agency (CNES) for the construction of Ariane 6 ELA 4 launch complex in Guiana.The Ariane 6 programme, approved by European Space Agency (ESA) in 2014, aims to minimise the cost of space launch by half compared to Ariane 5.CNES was handed the responsibility to develop the programme’s ground facilities at the Guiana Space Centre and in February issued an European tender invitation for the construction of the ELA 4 infrastructure, which has now been awarded to Eclair6 consortium.The consortium will be responsible for the construction of all ELA 4 structures, including the launch pad and its two flame trenches, the 6,000t, 90m-high mobile service gantry and the BAL launcher assembly building. The project will require 7,000t of reinforcement, 400,000cb m of earth and 7,500t of structural steel.Construction is set to start immediately and is scheduled to be complete in October 2018, with the first Ariane 6 launch scheduled for late 2020.
MUNA Consortium featuring Aldesa Construcciones and OHL Construcción has secured a contract from The Ministry of Culture of Peru to build an €100M National Archaeology Museum in Peru.The museum will be located at the archaeological area of Pachacámac, in the Lurín district.The 75,000sq m building will accommodate 500,000 pre-Colombian archaeological pieces. It will also have a new Children's Museum, a 450-seat auditorium and conference room, in addition to areas intended for restaurants, services and car parks.Construction work will take approximately two years. Once completed, the National Archaeology Museum will be the biggest in the country and one of the most important in Latin America.
POSCO E&C has started construction on a 380MW combined cycle power (CCPP) plant in Colon, Panama.The project will include the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) CCPP plant, along with an 180,000cb m LNG storage tank to supply fuel at Colon — located near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal — entailing an investment of $650M.The facility, set to be the largest of its kind in Panama, will generate enough electricity to power about 300,000 homes.Upon completion, the power plant will provide a stable supply of electricity to the industrial complex near Panama Canal and the Colon area.POSCO E&C CEO Han Chan-kun said: "The project is the result of efforts to establish trust with the ordering parties in Latin America over the past decade."It will be a great chance for us to showcase the high-quality construction technology of E&C across the world."The power plant will be completed in July 2018 and the LNG tank in May 2019.
Mott MacDonald has been chosen by the Centro American Corporation of Air Navigation Services (COCESNA) to lead a site study, design and masterplan for a new international airport in Costa Rica.The new metropolitan airport — to be located in Orotina, Alajuela — is part of the modernisation and growth of air transport in the country.The scope of the work, conducted by Mott MacDonald, involves technical, environmental and financial advisory and airport development planning — including traffic forecasting, infrastructure layout and terminal design. This is set to take 12 months, after which the consultancy firm will provide COCESNA with the infrastructure plans and associated financial requirements to develop the new airport. Mott MacDonald’s project director Horacio Rossi said: “The new airport will be a significant development for Costa Rica and support economic growth in the region. The additional capacity will enable an increase of international flights, benefitting both export and tourism.“Our experience consulting on Mariscal Sucre International Airport gave us specific expertise in developing new airports on Greenfield sites, as well as relocating a country’s main airport due to existing site expansion constraints. We are delighted to lead an integrated team on this project, which includes FSA, Enroute and Gensler.”The airport is expected to be complete in 2026.
Israel-based infrastructure firm Shikun & Binui has secured financing for the Cundinamarca 010 Toll Road Project in Colombia.The $640M project, part of a multinational plan to improve the country's road infrastructure system, includes the financing, construction, rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of a toll road that will span over nearly 154km.Shikun & Binui's subsidiary SBI, will provide construction services for the project agreed with the Government Infrastructure Authority at the Colombian Ministry of Transportation (ANI). The concession has tenure of 25 years, with an option to extend up to 29 years.Shikun & Binui chairman Moshe Lahmani said: "The financial closing of the project in Colombia is an additional significant milestone in realizing the Group's international strategy to expand its international infrastructure activity, and diversify its global operations."The completion of the financial closings in the USA and now in Colombia will contribute to the Group's record backlog. We will continue to compete for new mega projects in line with our strategic targets."
A consortium led by Astaldi has won a €400M contract from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) for the construction of the dome and telescope structure of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) in northern Chile. The consortium, known as the ACe Consortium, also includes Cimolai and the nominated sub-contractor EIE Group.The E-ELT, touted to be the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world, will feature a main mirror measuring 39m in diameter. The project is being built in Cerro Armazones, a 3,000m peak about 20km from ESO’s Paranal Observatory. The scope of the contract includes the design, manufacture, transport, construction, on-site assembly and verification of the dome and telescope structure. Astaldi’s chairman Paolo Astaldi said: “This project is truly visionary, both in what it represents for the field of astronomy and for construction and engineering.“Astaldi and our project partners, Cimolai and EIE Group, are extremely proud to have been selected by ESO through their call for tender to help make their vision a reality.“Astaldi is renowned for delivering its best-in-class technical skills, quality construction and strong execution, and we will put the full force of our core strengths behind this project. It is with great excitement that I sign a contract of such astronomical ambition.”
Spanish-based company Acciona Agua has completed construction and announced the opening of the wastewater treatment plant and underwater outlet of La Chira in Lima, Peru.The €97M project will treat the wastewater of about 3M people, representing around one-third of the population of Peru’s capital city.The plant features an advanced system to neutralise bad odours through biological bacterial treatment, reducing the atmospheric pollution created by the traditional use of chemicals in this kind of process. The plant is to be operated under a 25-year concession by a joint venture led by Acciona Agua and Graña y Montero.
Mainstream Renewable Power has received an approval from the Service of Environmental Assessment for its 264MW Cerro Tigre wind farm in Chile.Located close to the town of Antofagasta in north Chile, the $630M project will include 80 wind turbines in an area of 1,131ha and will be connected to the northern grid. Mainstream Renewable Power Chile’s CEO Bart Doyle said: “This work will contribute to the development of a diversified, clean and reliable energy mix which will provide an efficient solution to the country and the people of this region.“We are a company that develops its own projects and we are always looking for new opportunities for solar and wind energy developments, and the region of Antofagasta has important attributes that enable this.”The company will also commence construction of two wind farms in Chile: the Sarco wind farm which is located in Atacama, and the Aurora wind farm, located in the region of Los Lagos.With a combined generation capacity of 300MW, the two wind farms will provide power to the Central Interconnected System.
Panama has signed a $2.6bn agreement with Japan to finance the construction of Line 3 of Panama's Metro.Touted be the largest project in Panama since the expansion of the Panama Canal, Line 3 of the Panama Metro will be 26.75km long with 14 passenger stations.The first phase of Line 3 will meet the demand of 20,000 daily commuters in rush hour in 2020, while the second phase of Line 3 will benefit 31,862 commuters in 2050. Panama president Juan Carlos Varela said in the joint press conference with the prime minister of Japan Shinzo Abe: "The funding granted today by Japan is a recognition of Panama's credibility, stability, and strength. Today's announcement proves that our economy is sustained by solid foundations." The contractor for this project will be chosen through an international public bidding. Construction work will commence in 2017 and the metro line is set to be operational by the end of 2021.
Enel Green Power Brasil Participações (EGPB) has begun construction on Cristalândia wind farm in Bahia, Brazil.Located in the municipalities of Brumado, Rio de Contas and Dom Basilio, the $190m project will have a total installed capacity of 90MW, and is expected to commence operations in the second half of 2017. Upon completion, the wind farm will produce over 350GWh annually, which is enough to power more than 170,000 Brazilian households. It will also reduce carbon emissions by about 118,000 tonnes.The wind farm has been awarded to EGPB, a subsidiary of Enel, through the Leilão de Fontes Alternativas (LFA) — a public renewable energy auction — in April 2015.
Enel Group subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participações (EGPB) has begun construction of the Lapa solar park, which is expected to cost about $175m.The company secured the Lapa solar park project, together with Horizonte MP (103MW) and Nova Olinda (292MW), during the Leilão de Reserva public tender in August 2015.The 158MW solar park is being built on a site located at Bom Jesus da Lapa in Brazil's north-eastern state of Bahia. It will comprise two facilities – the 80MW Bom Jesus da Lapa and the 78MW Lapa.When functional, the solar park will generate close to 340GWh per year, sufficient to power more than 166,000 Brazilian households annually and prevent about 198,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from emanating into the atmosphere.The project will be supported by 20-year supply contracts that will allow sale of specified volumes of energy generated by the plants to the Brazilian Chamber of Commercialisation of Electric Energy (Câmara de Comercialização da Energia Elétrica or CCEE).The solar park is scheduled to become operational in the second half of 2017.
The multi-billion-dollar expansion of the Panama Canal is set to open on 26 June 2016.The project includes expansion of the 50-mile long waterway to manage increased levels of traffic and bigger cargo ships. Work involves construction of two new sets of locks, one each on the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean sides, excavation for new entrance channels to the new locks, widening and deepening the existing channels, as well as raising the water level of Gatun Lake.The project, which began in 2007, was initially scheduled to be completed in October 2014. It has however been delayed owing to construction, labour, and legal issues, as well as discovery of fissures in one of the widened locks.Work on the expansion is currently 97% complete.Panama Canal Authority CEO Jorge Quijano said: "The dream of expansion will become a reality when we inaugurate the biggest infrastructure project in the history of the Canal and the country of Panama."
AGC Asahi Glass (AGC), a manufacturer of glass, chemicals and high-tech materials, has unveiled plans to invest around JPY18bn ($158.1m) in its consolidated subsidiary, AGC Glass Brazil, to build a second float glass production plant in Brazil’s southeast region. The new facility is expected to boost AGC’s glass production capacity in the country to 2.4 times the existing capacity. Work on the plant is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2018.The company said in a statement: “With a relatively young population of approximately 200m people and abundant natural resources, Brazil is expected to maintain its economic growth from a medium and long-term perspective. The demand for architectural glass and automotive glass is also projected to grow. “In such a business environment, AGC will enhance its production capacity in Brazil to 530,000 tonnes per year, up 310,000 tonnes from the current 220,000 tonnes a year.” AGC Glass Brazil was set up in 2011 and became operational in 2013. The company manufactures and supplies float glass for architectural and automotive uses, mirrors, fabricated glass products for architectural use, as well as laminated/tempered automotive glass.
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