Thursday, August 27, 2015


A Concrete Sample Was Pulled from the New Panama Canal Locks and It Does Not Look Good


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A core sample taken from the concrete of the new Cocoli Locks complex.


A core sample pulled from the concrete of the Cocoli Locks where cracks and leaks have appeared does not bode well for the Panama Canal expansion project, which is on a strict deadline for completion in April 2016.
The crack and subsequent leaks appeared recently in the concrete of one of the interior chambers of the new Cocoli Locks on the Pacific side of the waterway during testing of the new locks.
According to the ACP, the crack appeared in the “step”, or sill, of lockhead 3 (LH3), dividing the middle chamber from the lower chamber of the Cocoli Lock complex.


Photo dated August 25, 2015 showing water leaking through cracks in the concrete of the new Cocoli Locks complex, located on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal.
Photo dated August 25, 2015 showing water leaking through cracks in the concrete of the new Cocoli Locks complex, located on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal.


Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), the main contractor for the Third Set of Locks project, issued a statement last Friday acknowledging the leaks, but has since gone quiet.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), the government agency responsible for the operation and management of the Panama Canal and the expansion project, has said that the based on preliminary information the crack is not expected to impact the opening of the new locks for commercial operations in April 2016 and that GUPC is solely responsible for the successful delivery and performance of the new locks ‘without defects’.
“GUPC has the obligation to ensure the long-term performance on all aspects of the construction of the locks and to correct this issue,” the ACP said in a statement earlier this week. “Moreover, GUPC’s contract with the ACP dictates that the group is responsible for modifications and corrections,” it added.
Neither the ACP or GUPC have gone into detail however about the scope of the issue or repairs needed.

IMG_1241
The Third Set of Locks project, the main component of the $5.25 billion expansion project, involves the construction of new, bigger lock complexes on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Panama Canal, which will allow larger ships to transit and effectively double the capacity of the famous waterway.
For the two new lock complexes, a total of 4.4 million cubic meters of concrete had to be poured, more than the 3.4 million cubic meters used for the current Panama Canal.


Water seeps through concrete in one of the chambers of the Cocoli Locks in the Panama Canal.
Water seeps through concrete in one of the chambers of the Cocoli Locks in the Panama Canal.


GUPC was one of three pre-qualified international consortiums bidding on the tender for the design and construction of the Third Set of Locks, a tender process that involved a thorough technical and pricing evaluation. The contract winner was selected based on the “non-negotiated best value proposal”, i.e. the one that obtained the highest combined score for their Price Proposal and Technical Proposal using a weighted model where the Technical Proposal was assigned 55 percent of the total score and the Price Proposal was assigned 45 percent of the total score.
Ultimately, GUPC was selected as the winner with the highest technical score and lowest total (fixed) price proposal at $3.221 billion. The contract for the project was awarded the contract on July 15, 2009 and work began the following month.
The opening of the expanded Panama Canal was originally scheduled for 2014 to coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the opening of the existing Panama Canal, but cost overruns and delays have pushed the opening to April 2016… at least as it stands now.
GUPC is a consortium made up of Sacyr Vallehermoso of Spain as its head, with Impregilo of Italy, Jan De Nul of Belgium and Constructura Urbana, SA (CUSA) of Panama.
Below is some video of the leaks:
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Sunday, August 23, 2015

CANAL DE PANAMÁ

GUPC rinde reporte sobre filtraciones en esclusa

Representantes de GUPC explican los posibles escenarios de reparación al administrador Jorge Luis Quijano.Representantes de GUPC explican los posibles escenarios de reparación al administrador Jorge Luis Quijano.
Representantes de GUPC explican los posibles escenarios de reparación al administrador Jorge Luis Quijano. Cortesía/ACP
La mañana de ayer sábado, un día tradicionalmente de reposo para los funcionarios panameños, fue agitado en el Canal de Panamá.
La Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) había convocado a los periodistas a participar de un taller informativo: “El agua, el fenómeno de El Niño y sus repercusiones”. El conversatorio se pactó de 9:30 a.m. a 12:30 p.m., con el propósito de explicar cómo la falta de lluvia incide directamente en las operaciones de la ruta comercial.
En paralelo, a puertas cerradas, y en otras oficinas administrativas, la plana mayor de la ACP recibía al alto mando de Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC). La visita no era de cortesía, sino de trabajo y explicaciones.
El viernes, un día antes, un vídeo y varias fotografías revelaron filtraciones en una de las nuevas esclusas construidas por GUPC. Las imágenes fueron “virales” en redes sociales.
Las grietas en la obra permiten el paso del agua a través de una de las esclusas. El mayor contratista del Canal, validó la veracidad de las fotos e informó que trabaja para reparar los daños.
La falla tiene solución en términos de ingeniería y fue detectada en una primera fase de pruebas, pero aún así es prioritario para la ACP. El encuentro de ayer y los personajes que lo lideraron, así lo demuestran.
Por parte del Canal, estuvieron presentes Jorge Luis Quijano, administrador de la vía; Manuel Benítez, subadministrador; y Samuel Cohen, de Control de Calidad de la ACP. GUPC estuvo representada por el italiano Giuseppe Quarta; director general del consorcio y la cara visible desde el punto de vista administrativo y estructural. Víctor Cabello y Fernando Pardo, encargados de la obra, también fueron a la cita.
Este diario habló con Quijano, quien explicó que en la reunión se conversó específicamente de las evaluaciones técnicas que hace el consorcio para diagnosticar con certeza la falla que ha provocado las filtraciones. Dependiendo de este diagnóstico que la ACP espera de forma rápida­ se definirá el método de reparación.
Las grietas corresponden a uno de los niveles de las nuevas esclusas del Canal en el sector Pacífico.
El administrador aseguró que la falla “tiene solución”. “Esto no es nada catastrófico, pero sí hay que hacer la reparación con mucho cuidado para que no suceda nuevamente”, recalcó.
“Tuvimos una reunión (ayer sábado) para ver cómo anda el análisis y diagnóstico de lo que han encontrado hasta la fecha... GUPC todavía no tiene una solución final. Tienen propuestas, pero faltan algunas exploraciones finales que se podrían hacer entre el lunes y martes próximos”.
La reparación podría tardar un mes y ello no debe afectar el cronograma de trabajo de la ampliación.
Funcionarios de la ACP detectaron las grietas desde el domingo 16 de agosto y desde ese momento se hacen las evaluaciones.
Cuando el daño se hizo público, la ACP advirtió que no aceptará la obra con imperfecciones. Hasta el 30 de junio pasado, los trabajos del Canal ampliado tenían un avance global de 93%.


Filtraciones en nuevas esclusas de Cocolí La Estrella Panama


Published on Aug 21, 2015
ACP informa que están en período de prueba y todas las imperfecciones que se detecten deben ser reparadas
https://youtu.be/PpAjSbEGe54


Vídeo revela que nueva esclusa del Canal de Panamá tiene filtraciones y no retiene el agua

Las grietas en la obra permiten el paso del agua a través de una de las compuertas construidas por Grupo Unidos por El Canal. La empresa informa que trabaja para reparar los daños.



Imagen de las filtraciones en la esclusa del Pacífico.Imagen de las filtraciones en la esclusa del Pacífico.
Imagen de las filtraciones en la esclusa del Pacífico. Cortesía


Una serie de fotografías y vídeos difundidos por medio de redes sociales en la mañana de hoy, 21 de agosto, evidencian filtraciones en una de las nuevas esclusas del Canal de Panamá, construidas en el sector Pacífico.
Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), empresa responsable de esta obra, valorada en 4 mil 357 millones de dólares, ha emitido un comunicado confirmando la veracidad de las gráficas.
" GUPC informa que las fotos que han salido publicadas en redes sociales son de una de las paredes de las nuevas esclusas en el sector Pacífico. Este suceso puntual en la estructura se está atendiendo por parte del personal técnico. El objetivo precisamente de las fases de pruebas es detectar cualquier situación que requiera ajustes o reforzamiento para el buen funcionamiento del proyecto", precisa el comunicado.





Habla la ACP

Tras hacerse públicas las filtraciones en la obra, la Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) emitió un comunicado para indicar que no recibirá la obra con imperfecciones.
"El contratista GUPC debe dar las explicaciones. La obra no está terminada. El contratista debe reparar a satisfacción las imperfecciones y defectos que se detecten en el periodo de pruebas que estamos llevando a cabo. Nuestro equipo técnico está pendiente de todos los detalles que garanticen que la obra reúna todos las exigencias de calidad que contempla el contrato. La ACP no aceptará nada lejano a la perfección", precisa un comunicado.

Caricaturas


Thursday, August 20, 2015

China's Building a Huge Canal in Nicaragua, But We Couldn't Find It

A man points out the towns that will be affected where the canal, red line, will be built across Nicaragua.
A man points out the towns that will be affected where the canal, red line, will be built across Nicaragua.
Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg

Deep on the southeastern side of Lake Nicaragua, along a bumpy dirt road that climbs gently through lush-green forest, sits the tiny town of El Tule. It is quintessential rural Central America: Chickens roam outside tin-roofed homes while pigs stand tied to trees, awaiting slaughter; the sound of drunk locals singing along to ranchera music greeted visitors on a recent rain-soaked afternoon.
The village, if you listen to Nicaraguan officials, is a key point in what will be the biggest infrastructure project the region has ever seen, the construction of a $50 billion canal slated to run 170 miles from the country’s east to west coast. Awarded two years ago by President Daniel Ortega to an obscure Chinese businessman named Wang Jing, the concession calls for El Tule to be ripped up, erased essentially, in order to make way for the canal right before it plunges into the lake and then meets the Pacific Ocean a few miles later.
The idea is that the waterway will attract many of the larger vessels that the Panama Canal — located just 300 miles to the southeast — has historically struggled to accommodate. A construction deadline of 2020 has been set. Yet a four-day tour through El Tule and surrounding areas slated for crucial initial development only seemed to corroborate the belief, harbored by many analysts inside and outside Nicaragua, that this project isn’t going to get done.
The tiny town of El Tule in Nicaragua.
The tiny town of El Tule in Nicaragua.

Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg

The townspeople haven’t seen any signs of canal workers in months. And the work that was done was marginal. A handful of Chinese engineers were spotted late last year making field notations on the east side of the lake; early this year, a dirt road was expanded and light posts were upgraded at a spot on the west side where a port is to be built.
Juharling Mendoza, a 32-year-old local entrepreneur, is so convinced that the project won’t proceed that he’s constructing a two-story house with three guest rooms and an attached convenience store just outside of El Tule. He says bluntly: “There isn’t going to be a canal.”
It is true, as supporters of the canal quickly point out, that public works of this magnitude tend to move in fits and starts. The Panama Canal itself was decades in the making. However, for a project that made so little sense to so many skeptics from the very beginning, the almost non-existent initial progress — along with the struggles to raise financing — is only fanning those doubts.
Sverre Svenning, a shipping expert at Oslo-based Fearnley Consultants AS, notes that Panama’s current $5 billion canal expansion will allow it to better accomodate today’s bigger tankers. Overall traffic, he says, isn’t strong enough to sustain a second route. And then there are the massive engineering and environmental challenges to overcome, like making sure the country’s volcanos don’t disrupt the canal, according to Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas. “I’m very skeptical,” he said.
A Google earth map presented by HKND Group shows — in red — where the canal will cut through Nicaragua.
A Google earth map presented by HKND Group shows — in red — where the canal will cut through Nicaragua.

Conspiracy Theories
Many people doubt that Ortega — a former guerrilla who rose to international fame when he defeated U.S.-backed forces in the 1980s — and his Chinese partners ever truly intended to build a canal. 

Conspiracy theories abound as to what their real intentions are. It has become something of its own cottage industry. A small sampling: The project is a land grab by Ortega; or a tool to whip up support ahead of next year’s elections; or a Chinese plan to threaten U.S. hegemony in the region by mapping out infrastructure designs so close to its shores.
While Wang, a billionaire who made his fortune largely in the telecom industry, hasn’t received official public backing from Beijing, China watchers say it’s unlikely he’d have signed such a deal without getting the green light at first from home. 
In extending its influence throughout Latin America and the rest of the developing world, China’s record on these mega projects is spotty. Several have been put on hold long after companies began the work, like a $3.5 billion resort in the Bahamas and a $1.3 billion refinery upgrade in Costa Rica.
Back in a 2013 interview, Wang made it clear he was aware of the public perception. “I don’t want it to become a joke or an example of a failed overseas Chinese enterprise,” he said.
In response to questions this week, Wang’s Hong Kong-based HKND Group said construction of the port on the Pacific Coast will begin this year, a position echoed in Managua by Manuel Colonel Kautz, the head of the country’s new canal authority. HKND said it’s waiting for the Nicaraguans to sign off on the environmental impact study before proceeding and that it’s held talks with companies across the globe looking to invest. 
Ortega’s press office declined to comment.
The $50 billion canal would be the biggest infrastructure project the region has ever seen with the waterway slated to run 170 miles from Nicaragua's east to west coast.
The $50 billion canal would be the biggest infrastructure project the region has ever seen with the waterway slated to run 170 miles from Nicaragua's east to west coast.
Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg

Vanderbilt’s Failure
The dream of a canal cutting across Nicaragua dates back centuries. Before Teddy Roosevelt and the Americans settled on Panama, Nicaragua was the top pick for an inter-oceanic waterway that would end the need for ships to make the long trek around Cape Horn. Railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt even took a shot at building one in the 1850s. The mast of his dredge boat still stands as a symbol of that failure, rising out of a lagoon in southeast Nicaragua.

The job looks no easier today really than it did then.
It will require 16 million cubic meters of concrete, nearly one million tons of rebar and steel and the excavation of 4 billion cubic meters of rock and soil. Nearly all of these materials — as well as the bulldozers and cranes — will have to be imported, HKND says. The $50 billion price tag is almost five times the annual economic output in Nicaragua, the poorest nation in Central America.

‘Go Away’
In a country with little independent polling, it’s hard to gauge support for the project. Traveling along the canal route last month, the most common concerns heard were about eviction and, to a lesser extent, the environmental impact.

In Rio Grande, a town along the Pacific Coast, Antonia Ponce was adamant that she’s not moving. “Only over my dead body,” she said. Her 19-year-old granddaughter, Tatiana, then pulled out a sign she made last year when the Chinese workers showed up to work on the road. In Chinese lettering surrounded by an axe and machete, emblems of the Nicaraguan countryside, it reads: “Go Away, Chinamen.” 
A resident holds his land contract near the Hacienda Miramar, where work has started on the canal in Rio Grande, Nicaragua.
A resident holds his land contract near the Hacienda Miramar, where work has started on the canal in Rio Grande, Nicaragua.

Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg
But the overriding sentiment on the ground was skepticism.
A few miles to the west of Rio Grande, in a village where oxen-pulled wooden carts pass through empty dirt streets, a rancher named Jose Mena Cortez said he’s seen all this before — the bold promises from politicians of public works and growth. “They always come with big plans,” he said. “And they never do anything.”—With Haixing Jin