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CARIOCA ENGENHARIA MAKES EARLY DELIVERY OF IMPORTANT MILESTONE OF PORT OF RIO CONSTRUCTION WORK
Carioca Engenharia completed early another important stage of expansion works at the Port of Rio. Using two drilling machines, the team working on the project completed last Thursday (February 29th) the drilling of 160 piles, initially scheduled to end on March 17th.
“The delivery made two weeks earlier is the result of an action plan that we created two months ago, implemented and monitored by the construction planning management team, where daily meetings with adjustments to service schedules and course corrections were held, and successfully led to productions above the originally planned historical rates,” says Engineering Director Gustavo Maschietto.
Once completed, the Port of Rio expansion will greatly support the economy and development of Rio de Janeiro, as it will increase the quay area by almost 6,000 m², expanding operational capacity in the flow of ships and the handling and storage of containers for the import and export of gods and materials in the city.
Industry expertise
In ports and terminals, projects signed by Carioca include ThyssenKrupp CSA Terminal (RJ), CODESA Commercial Wharf (ES), Guanabara Bay (RJ) and Salvador (BA) LNG, Port of Alumar (MA), Ilha Grande Bay Oil Tankers Terminal (RJ), Inhaúma Shipyard (RJ), Rio Grande Breakwaters (RS), Açu Superport (RJ) and Jurong Aracruz Shipyard (ES).
“We are a reference in the construction of ports and terminals in Brazil. Over 60 construction projects, 300 km of piles driven with different engineering techniques and 150,000 m² of piers built along the Brazilian coast are under the signature of Carioca Engenharia. In the Port of Rio project, we used a steel formwork for in situ concreting, which is uncommon to all engineering projects run in Brazil. This is a disruptive project that will leave a legacy for our next projects,” Maschietto says.
Exclusive equipment ensures more speed and safety
It is worth noting that this project also relies on Ramlift, a floating pile driver owned by Carioca that provides speed, productivity and safety to foundations in areas of great depth, such as the Port of Rio. The equipment is about 45 m long, 17 m wide and more than 50 m high. Its driving power goes beyond 20 tons per meter and is equipped with steam or compressed air-powered hydraulic or pneumatic hammers.
Another strength is the time spent laying the pile foundation, which can be done in a few hours using a state-of-the-art satellite geopositioning system (GNSS). Conventional equipment takes one day or more to drive a steel pile, and a concern is that the segments would be welded at sea, and would lack the quality provided by welding carried out on the construction site.
According to Maschietto, such innovations consider the technical specificities of heavy construction and involve highly qualified teams, seeking safety, quality and speed in execution. Multiple sea terminals in Santos and Rio Grande; the Bahia Regasification terminal and CODESA’s Vitória Commercial Wharf (ES) are some of the construction projects that used the Ramlift. In project TECON II, in Santos, the largest precast piles in Brazil were driven into a single 61-meter-long prestressed concrete element.
Maschietto adds the increasing utilization of georeferencing in construction projects. It allows the “combination” of a traditional and necessary methodology for faster management of all construction stages, allowing, for example, night work, which virtually doubles daily production. It is this speed that allows Carioca to be a reference in large-scale maritime projects.