Stage I – Punta Rincon Landing Project
Location: Coclecito, Colón
Client: Minera Panamá S.A.
Year: 2012-2013
Intercoastal Marine Inc.

The Project contemplate the supply and installation of a remote beach landing system to support the construction of the Port Facilities of Minera Panama, S.A. Project near Coclecito, Colon – Panama.

This remote beach landing system consist in a Jeety formed  by two Jack-up Barges (JUB) platforms positioned in deeper waters,  and a temporal steel modular trestle in shallows waters to reach shoreline in to the Cargo Laydown Area of the project.  The JUB’s are two sisters modular barges formed by 52 different components each, which once assembly conform a work platform of 36 by 18 by 2 mts, with four spud in his corners and hydraulic systems that aloud this JUB’s to jack-up over sea level to operate in a safe way.

The Temporal steel modular trestle consist in four steel bodies with dimensions of 9 by 9 by 2,5 mts. With an approximated weight if 16 ton. for each body. The separation between each body is 9 mts with a total of 63 m long for the steel structure. The trestle bodies are driven in his four corners with vertical steel piles of 30” and 24” diam. and each body has two batter piles.

On top and joining this steel bodies, crawler mats are placed which allowed the transit of cargo over the trestle. This crawler mats are steel structures  of appx. 6.7 ton. with a timber cover for the transit of cargo. Between the JUB’s and in the union with the trestle, steel ramps are placed to permit the crossing of the entire structure.

On the offshore side of this trestle, two dolphins will be placed to assist the berth maneuvers of the different vessels that going to arrive to this pier. On the onshore side, a rockfill ramp will be filed to reach the Cargo Laydown Area of appx. 8.100 m2. The total longitude of the pier will reach the 165m mts.

Stage II – Punta Rincon Beach Landing
Location: Samba Bonita, Colón
Year: 2012-2013
Client: Minera Panama S.A.
Intercoastal Marine Inc.

Project consists on the logistics material, equipment and operation services for Minera Panama, S.A. including the logistics of the temporary dock located at the Atlantic zone of the Panama Canal at 9 navigation hours form the city of Colon to Punta Rincon. The pier built previously in phase I of the contract by Intercoastal Marine, Inc.(IMI), consists in the installation of 2 jack-up platforms and 3 steel jackets which composes a temporary dock with a approximate length of 125 lineal meters. The contract’s term is 12 months and its monthly transportation rate is of 2000 tons. It also requires the transport of equipment and materials with the use of landing crafts, tugboats, barges and rafts all supplied and operated by IMI.

 

Minera Panama requires the construction of a 300-320 megawatt power plant known as the Cobre Panama Power Station which is a two-unit coal fired power plant to sustain operations and whose excess production will be fed back into the national grid system. Minera Panama estimates requiring 7,000 employees of which 3,000 employees will be for port and plant operations.

PACO UNITS 1 AND 2 Coal-Fired
Sponsor: Minera Panamá
Parent company: First Quantum Minerals Ltd
Client: SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C)
Location: Punta Rincón, Coclé del Norte, Donoso District, Colón, Panama
Coordinates: 9.019755, -80.690630 (approximate)
New Coal Plant / 2×150 MW / Colombian Bituminous Coal
Gross Capacity: Unit 1: 150-160 MW, Unit 2: 150-160 MW
Type: Subcritical
Boiler: SeenTec
Seawater FGD system: Fisia Babcock
Steam turbine-generator: Doosan Skoda
Status: Under Construction
Projected in service: 2017

The PACO project consists of two identical 150-MW subcritical coal-fired units and associated steam-turbine generators (STGs), located on a greenfield site on the Caribbean coastline of Panama, approximately 130 km west of Panama City. Each unit includes one boiler, one STG, a seawater flue gas desulfurization (FGD) unit, and once-through cooling of the STG exhaust using seawater. Coal will be primarily Colombian bituminous. The STG units are located indoors.

The design incorporates state-of-the-art equipment, software, and features. SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C) is developing the plant on an engineering-procurement (EP) basis for Minera Panama, S.A. (MPSA), who is the plant owner. MPSA is managing the construction and is a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals Ltd (FQML). The plant is being built to supply power for the new Cobre copper mine currently under development.

SK E&C teamed exclusively with Sargent & Lundy, SeenTec, Doosan Skoda, and Fisia Babcock to submit their winning offer for the project. Sargent & Lundy supported SK E&C with development of their technical bid and through the entire bidding phase. The team of Sargent & Lundy and L&T-Sar gent & Lundy Limited is providing the detailed engineering and design of the project. The power plant will operate primarily at base load and will supply electric power via a 230-kV two-circuit transmission line, to be designed and installed by third parties, to the Cobre copper mining complex under development in an area about 30 km from the PACO project site. This mining complex has a forecasted continuous power demand of about 200 MW. The balance of the net-generated power will be injected into the Panamanian electrical power grid.

The plant is being developed on a site that was covered by dense vegetation, and MPSA, with responsibility for clearing the site and initial grading, had to meet very stringent environmental requirements with respect to removal of flora and fauna. In effect, every animal (including 10-foot-long bushmaster snakes) had to be physically relocated during site clearing operations.

Commercial operation is anticipated in January 2017.

In conjunction with Minera Panama’s investment in the area, the Panamanian government has committed resources to constructing 2 large projects; an Atlantic Bridge over the 3rd set of Canal locks, and a coastal highway (along the Mosquito Coast) from Miguel de la Borda to Chiriquí Grande.