Puerto Valparaíso (EPV) is moving forward with the development of the future Sitio Costanera, a project with approved RCA and one of the key works planned for the city’s port expansion.
As part of the preliminary stages prior to construction, the chairman of the company’s Board of Directors, Gonzalo Le Dantec, and its general manager, Franco Gandolfo, visited the facilities of IHCantabria in Spain, where physical tests are being carried out to validate the design of the future infrastructure and its associated public spaces.
According to EPV, the visit, which was also attended by Jaime Serrano, Engineering Director at PRDW Port and Coastal Engineers, the consultancy responsible for the design of the project, aimed to review on site the progress of the two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) physical models. These models have been built to reproduce, at scale, the future port facilities and their interaction with the marine environment.
The company considers this a fundamental stage to validate the engineering solutions before the start of construction, projected for 2030, and to reinforce confidence in the future port development ahead of the upcoming concession tender process.
International standards for a strategic project
Chairman of Puerto Valparaíso, Gonzalo Le Dantec, stressed that the process marks an essential step in the development of the project.
“The port expansion of Valparaíso is moving forward under the highest international standards. The physical validation work we are carrying out in Spain allows us to optimise the design of the future works before construction, incorporating criteria of safety, resilience to climate change and proper integration with the public spaces that form part of the project,” he said.
Le Dantec added that this work provides greater certainty for the development of a strategic infrastructure for Valparaíso, the region and Chilean foreign trade.
2D and 3D models to test the future infrastructure
The 3D tests were carried out in the Cantabria Coastal and Ocean Basin, while the 2D tests took place in the Wave-Current-Tsunami Flume.
Together, both models made it possible to assess the behaviour of the marginal wharf, berthing areas, coastal protection structures and the elements designed to integrate the city and the port, including the Paseo Mirador and Paseo Malecón.
The phenomena analysed included wave propagation, the interaction between waves and structures, water overtopping and the stability of coastal protection systems. These studies are intended to verify and optimise the detailed engineering design of the project.
Technical basis for the next stages
During the visit, researchers from IHCantabria presented the preliminary results of the studies to the EPV delegation. The findings were reviewed jointly by the technical teams of both institutions.
This information will provide a solid basis for decision-making in the next stages of the project definition, ahead of the start of construction.
A 430-metre berth for larger vessels
The studies represent a new milestone in the development of the future Sitio Costanera, which will include a 430-metre berthing front and the capacity to receive vessels of up to 367 metres in length.
Once completed, the infrastructure will strengthen Valparaíso’s competitiveness, increase its capacity to serve the new generations of vessels used in international trade and advance a port expansion conceived under international standards of safety, operational efficiency and sustainability.
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The project is also designed to provide more efficient and safer facilities, adapted to both operational and extreme coastal conditions in Valparaíso.
IHCantabria, a European reference in port engineering
IHCantabria, created by the University of Cantabria and the Government of Cantabria, was awarded the modelling study following a public tender process carried out by EPV.
The institution is one of Europe’s leading applied research centres in hydraulic, coastal and port engineering. For the Valparaíso project, high-level technological equipment is being used, including the Cantabria Coastal and Ocean Basin and the Wave-Current-Tsunami Flume, both specifically designed for the assessment of complex maritime works.
