Environmentally Sustainable Port Developed with Van Oord – BAM International Consortium Assistance

In cooperation with the Van Oord – BAM International consortium, a world-class, high-productivity, and environmentally sustainable container terminal was constructed in one of Costa Rica’s most beautiful coastal areas. With specialised technical knowledge, the consortium met the challenges presented by, for example, varying soil and sea conditions and strict construction requirements relating to seismic activity. The contract for the operation of the new container terminal was awarded to APM Terminals by the Costa Rica Government.

In 2015 side stone dumping vessel HAM 601 began with the construction of the 2,200 metres long breakwater. Trailing suction hopper dredger Volvox Atalanta also started immediately in order to get the 6.5 million cubic metres of sand which was needed for the land reclamation. In addition, Van Oord deployed cutter suction dredger Castor to remove stiff clay and to recycle the material that ended up outside the projected boundaries of the terminal area. Because it involved so many of these interdependencies between project phases and their associated activities, the Moín container terminal project was a good example of a complex project.

Volvox Atalanta at Moin Costa Rica and release of baby leatherbacks

When managing a project site in a vulnerable environment like this, a lot needs to be taken into account. ‘Because no matter how fast we needed to carry out the construction works, we didn’t want to have an adverse impact on the environment and cause damage to nature, marine life, wildlife, etc.,’ states Project Director Hans van Meeuwen. ‘Turtles use this area as a nesting area, so we ensured that – despite our presence – they still felt welcome to lay their eggs. To achieve this, we carefully selected the colour, intensity and the direction of the construction lights.’ He continues: ‘To protect the eggs from illegal hunting, we collected and transfered them to a secure hatching area we had set up. When the eggs hatched, the baby turtles were taken back to the beach, where they started their journey to the ocean.’ Each turtle nesting season, around 10,000 turtles were born and released.

Source Van Oord