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MeneameEcuador's maritime interests commission (Digeim) should call a new auction to carry out "emergency" dredging of Guayaquil port access canal where silting is seriously threatening trade, former Guayaquil port authority (APG) director Antonio Aguirre said, as reported in Diario Hoy (Ecuador).
Various requests have been made for the works to be implemented immediately, but to no avail, according to APG current president Nelson Dossmann. "The silt problem is threatening to relegate this port to being a small scale domestic port compared to other Latin American ports," he said.
Ecuador's attorney general Ramon Jimenez ruled November 6 and on January 10 this year that Dutch firm Dredging International, which was awarded the contract in September 2000, had failed to present international certification to guarantee the quality of machinery and other details of the works. The company also tried to extend the completion date for works to 346 from 300 days.
In addition Jimenez ruled that APG does not have sufficient financial resources to pay for the job, having a budget of only US$14.5mn while Dredging International's total asking price is US$21.9mn.
APG first awarded the contract in August 1999 to Dutch firm Van Oor Acz, which offered to complete the works for US$6.12mn. However, the cost rose after fishermen argued dumping the dredged material near the site would affect shrimp fishing.
The original contract was then cancelled and a new auction called. Following a new environmental impact study, it was agreed the dredged material should be dumped 40km away, causing project costs to triple, according to Aguirre.
The dredging job involves removing 3.8Mt of sediment from the 80km access canal that currently impedes heavily laden ships from leaving the port. In certain stretches the depth has fallen from 10 to eight meters over the last decade.
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