The Regional Port Consortium of the city of Mar del Plata awarded the Spanish firm Canlemar the dredging works for the next two years in the local port, for $ 57 million, as confirmed by the head of the entity, Martin Merlini.
The dredging tasks, a sustained claim of the companies in the sector, include the recovery of the depth of the access channels and the interior spaces of the port of Mar del Plata and will begin no later than February 2017, reported the agency Télam.
The works will be financed with the Consortium's own resources, according to Merlini, and he explained that the state oil company YPF will provide an advance payment of $ 15 million. Likewise, Merlini pointed out that “for the first time a two-year work forecast has been achieved”.
The work was initially estimated at $ 36 million, but bad weather conditions caused a greater accumulation of sand, so the estimate rose to $ 57 million, the entity informed. The Spanish company's dredge will be the Omvac Diez, a 73-meter long vessel that performs suction dredging tasks.
The announcement was made last week at the Consortium's headquarters, where it was also announced the start-up of a beacon at the 9 de Julio Power Plant, located next to the port, which will allow the operation of large vessels 24 hours a day, added Télam.
The Consortium also announced the availability of 272 meters of dock, which belonged to the frustrated Cruise Terminal project, for the operation of fishing vessels. Merlini also highlighted the installation of the fire-fighting system, the implementation of port training courses and the final stage of the enhancement of the Escollera Sur with works by the winners of the mural competition, among other works.