Project Description
Description of the project
Porto Central is a greenfield port project in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The construction of the port, designed for VLCC’s with 21 m draught, implies major dredging works of 60 million m3 in the first phase alone.
The impact of turbidity generated by the dredging works is a concern for the health of the nearby rhodolith beds. Therefore an Adaptive Dredging Management Plan is developed. The behavior of turbidity plumes under local hydrodynamic conditions is simulated. Thresholds are established for sedimentation rates for rhodoliths. This results in the prediction of areas with increased risk of impact, which can be monitored closely during execution. Procedures are designed to adapt dredging when necessary on the basis of actual monitoring results (both physical parameters as visual inspections).