As Haiti rebuilds after its cataclysmic earthquake, the government there has launched a first-of-its-kind design competition to help replace the country's decimated housing stock.
The effort to build the longest bridge in Peru began in 1978, and, if all goes as planned, the 722-meter-long span over the Madre de Dios River in the Peruvian Amazon will be completed in December. Constructing the Guillermo Billinghurst Bridge—a task spanning more than three decades—will cap the effort to build a paved road in South America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean: the Interoceanic Highway. The $2.37-billion project to build the road across southern Peru was expanded last year to include the long-awaited span. When completed, the $25.71-million bridge will link the city of Puerto Maldonado
As the works to complete the dam and tunnel that will divert water across the Andean Continental Divide in northern Peru struggle toward completion, the Brazilian company handling the job� is already preparing for the next phase of the project. La Concesionaria Trasvase Olmos S.A., a business entity created solely for the project by general contract Odebrecht Peru, is seeking the 20-year contract that will divert the waters from the Los Olmos project to irrigate 38,000 hectacres on the arid Pacific coast. On May 11, Peruvian President Alan Garcia signed the document clearing the way for the regional government of
The battle of Belo Monte came to the headquarters of Brazil’s National Electric Energy Agency, Aneel, in Brasília on April 20. While government and business leaders convened inside, hundreds of protesters gathered in the streets. Indigenous tribes fight proposal. In response to the project being awarded inside the National Electric Energy Agency building, vocal protesters dumped hundreds of pounds of horse manure onto its steps. The project has become a flashpoint for the need to conserve the vast but fragile Amazon as well as meet the country’s growing energy needs. Caught in the middle of the conflict are hundreds of
A controversial 11,200-MW hydroelectric dam deep in the Brazilian Amazon was awarded to a nine-company consortium on April 20, setting aside years of controversy and last-minute protests. The Belo Monte dam will harnass the Xingu River’s power. Brazil’s electricity regulating agency Aneel awarded the tender to build and operate Belo Monte dam to the Norte Energia Consortium led by Compañía Hidro Eletrica do Sao Francisco (CHESF), a unit of state-run Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA. The group presented an offer to sell electricity from the project for 77.97 reais, or $44.24, per megawatt-hour. The other companies in the consortium include Galvão,
Brazilian-backed proposal to build a 2,000-megawatt hydroelectric plant in the Peruvian Amazon has gained momentum in recent weeks as the government of the Andean nation has thrown its weight behind the effort. Photo: C.J. Schexnayder Inambari River project would supply 2,000 MW of power, but displace 3,300 people. + Image Image: C.J. Schexnayder. The Brazilian consortium behind the $4-billion project, Empresa de Generación Eléctrica Amazonas Sur S.A.C. (EGASUR), is expected to present feasibility studies for constructing the hydroelectric plant on the Inambari River to Peru’s Ministry of Mines and Energy early this month. EGASUR is composed of Brazilian construction firm
A joint U.S.-European group has presented the low bid to analyze the options for a vehicular crossing at the Atlantic entrance of the Panama Canal, officials said on Monday. Photo: C.J. Schexnayder The Third Lane Expansion project will be built roughly at the site of a previous excavation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, visible to the left of the Gatun Locks. San Francisco-based URS Corp. and the Danish firm COWI A/S submitted a bid of $895,000—the lowest of five tendered—to examine the possibilities of a permanent crossing at the historic waterway’s Atlantic entrance that will allow uninterrupted traffic
Hours after Chile was hammered on Feb. 27 by one of the most powerful earthquakes in its history, President Michelle Bachelet made it clear the country already is preparing for recovery. Photo: AFP/Getty Images The naval port city of Talcahuano, about 20 km from Concepción, was devastated by a tsunami about an hour after the quake, catching unwarned residents by surprise. No tsunami warnings were issued for Chile’s coastal towns. Related Links: Chile’s Quake Damage Mitigated by Past Lessons “We are facing a catastrophe of unforeseen magnitude which caused damage that will require enormous efforts of all sectors of the
