Colombia awards Buenaventura dredging works

Colombia's national roads authority Invias has awarded the project to dredge the country's main port, Buenaventura, to the local subsidiary of Belgium-based European Dredging Company.

The 107bn-peso (US$36.1mn) contract will involve dredging the port's access canal, the office of the Colombian vice president said in a statement.

The six-month contract is for the maintenance and expansion of the access canal, as well expanding and increasing the depth of the area.

The canal is 31.5km long and has a depth of 13.5m, according to information from Buenaventura port.

It is estimated that some 3.54Mm3 of material will have to be removed, comprised 2.77Mm3 of sand, 126,200m3 of soft rock and 646,000m3 of hard rock, the statement read.

Buenaventura accounts for 80% of the Colombian coffee shipped abroad and over 60% of its entire maritime trade.