Genoa's New Breakwater begins to take shape in the open-sea, with 1 million tons of gravel deposited on the seabed. Construction works proceed on schedule.
Genoa, 6 February 2024 - With over 1 million tons of gravel deposited, the future base of the new Breakwater - the major infrastructure facility strategic to both the port and the city alike - begins to unfold along the seabed, and it is important to highlight that 40% of the activity in question has already been completed, as per project timeline. The large quantity of gravel delivered, threefold the total weight of the Duomo of Milan, has been used since 4 May 2023 to build 1320 giant underwater columns.
In recent months, to reach this target, an increased supply of gravel has been shipped from the quarries in Liguria, Piombino and Cartagena in Spain, with the deployment of an additional vessel, the 40,000-ton capacity bulk carrier Sider Olympia, alongside the two ships already in use. In addition, to meet with the demands of unfavourable marine weather conditions, a large barge, carrying four 40-metre high cranes equipped with 22-metre long vibrating steerable probes, has been deployed alongside the twin-crane pontoon already operational for the construction of the columns at the planned depth.
The next project milestone to be achieved is the construction of the medium-sized caissons of the new breakwater, scheduled to commence in April. Upon completion, the enormous cellular blocks of reinforced concrete will be installed at a depth of 50 metres to form the centrepiece of the monumental open-sea infrastructure facility.
In the meantime, the underwater search for unexploded ordnances along the seabed continues, with 70% of the area in question already cleared and monitoring activities on schedule to be completed by the summer.
Paolo Piacenza, Government Commissioner of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority reported:“The various phases of the construction works of Genoa's new breakwater are in progress, as per project timeline, with the objective to complete the monumental open-sea infrastructure facility on schedule. The close and strong cooperation forged between the public authorities and the private companies is the key driver in the achievement of the wide-ranging economic and social development project goals, planned to benefit not only the port and the city of Genoa, but also the major industrial and consumer centres in Italy and Europe served by the port. The resilience of the Ports of Genoa and Savona-Vado has also emerged forcefully from the port's quick response to the current Red Sea crisis, as all the ships from the Far East continue to call, notwithstanding a review of the maritime trade route deployed, and our terminal operating companies continue to serve chain supply requirements across the Northern Italian and Southern European manufacturing areas.”
Marco Bucci, Mayor and Government Commissioner for the Reconstruction of Genoa, commented:“Another milestone has been successfully reached with the deposit of 1 million tons of gravel along the seabed, as per project timeline. We move ahead by turning our commitments into real concrete actions and we will complete the construction of the new breakwater by the end of 2026, as planned. We shall restore water to the Port of Genoa to cater for the high volumes of international seaborne traffic into Europe, and over 1 million sqm of land to the City to boost local economic growth and employment. ”
Tag:
