PANAMA CANAL EXPANSION
The expansion of the Panama Canal represents the largest expansion work since the inauguration of this interoceanic waterway in 2014.
Table of Contents
Metal Silos in the Panama Canal
Concrete pouring for the construction of the locks began at the end of June 2011 on the Atlantic side and in early July of the same year on the Pacific side.
The locks were built with a projected useful life of 100 years. To make this possible, high compressive strength mixes were developed, with a maximum permeability of 1,000 Coulombs, a maximum water/cementitious material ratio of 0.4 and control of the difference between internal and external temperatures.
This was due to the fact that the large volumes of concrete presented differences of up to 20°C. To avoid surface defects that would require future repairs, special attention was paid to areas in direct contact with seawater.
The new locks have three consecutive chambers that were designed to move ships from sea level to a large artificial lake. Each chamber has three large side pools to save water, resulting in a total of 9 pools per lock, 18 in the entire complex, saving up to 60% of the liquid used.
Both the locks and the corresponding pools are filled and emptied by gravity, without the use of pumps.
The image on the left is of the original locks and the image on the right shows the current locks.
Scutti America managed for its client GUPC the successful supply of 14 bolted Metal Silos, 13 of them with a capacity of 1,200 m³ (1,680 Tons of Cement, diameter 9.5 m.) and 1 of 400 m³ (for Fly Ash with a diameter of 6.0 m), for a total storage capacity of almost 22,000 tons of cement, which would operate for almost 3 years, in order to conclude the production of 4.3 MM m³ of concrete poured during the construction of the new locks complexes for the Atlantic and Pacific.
Final result of the project
The Expanded Canal can accommodate all projected demand through 2025 and beyond. Together, the original and current locks, after expansion, represent approximately double the original capacity. The expanded canal also allows for the passage of other types of ships of smaller size and capacity, to increase the transit of ships waiting to pass through the canal.
Thanks to the execution of the new Panama Canal, 10,000 direct jobs were generated during the construction of the Expanded Canal, including workers from 40 different countries.
The greatest impact on employment today comes from the economic growth generated by the economic activities produced by the increased transit of ships and sailboats. All this contributes to fully underpin the advantages of Panama's geographical position.
The labor required for the construction of the third set of locks was, for the most part, Panamanian, who were trained in advance, thanks to programs included in the project costs.
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