Work on the El Chaparral hydroelectric project in northeastern El Salvado is almost finished, contractor Rodio Swissboring has announced.
The company – a subsidiary of Soletanche Bachy – has been carrying out specialist work to finish the project. Works include the construction of the grout curtain, drainage system and dam instrumentation which have been carried out in conjunction with Rodio Kronsa with support from Sixense. Also, the project called for the construction of a rockfill dyke and a plastic concrete diaphragm wall on the right abutment of the dam, as well as waterproofing and additional works in the intake of the project, carried out with the support of Carpi.
To date approximately 130,000m3 of compacted infill material has been removed, to construct the lateral closing dyke of the dam. This dyke is built on a screen of plastic concrete of almost 10,000m2.
The civil engineering works at the base of the Load Chamber and the waterproofing of that chamber, work done in JV with Carpi, are also in their final phase, bringing to date a total of 7500m2 of membrane put in place with only the geomembranes on the floor still to be installed.
For the waterproofing grouting, drainage and instrumentation in the dam being done in JV with Rodio Kronsa, to date a total of approximately 34,000 perforated linear metres have been completed and 265,000kg of cement injected. This work is also in its final stage, with mainly the instrumentation work now being done, with the support of Sixense.
