Project Name:
Panama Canal Expansion Third Set of Locks
Panama Canal Authority - Panama
Region: Americas
Service Offering: Engineering & Design
Market Sector: Ports Waterways & Costal
Client Type: Private Sector
Status: In Progress
Panama Canal Expansion Third Set of Locks
Description:

MWH is the lead designer of the new Post-Panamax navigation locks for the Third Set of Locks project of the Panama Canal Expansion.  The Third Set of Locks will double the Canal’s capacity, providing significant benefits to the local, regional and global economies.

The design-build contract for implementation of the Third Set of Locks project was awarded by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to international consortium Grupo Unidos Por el Canal (GUPC) in July 2009.  Providing support to GUPC for design, MWH is the lead firm of the design joint venture, CICP Consultores Internacionales, LLC , in partnership with California-based TetraTech and Iv-Infra of the Netherlands. 

MWH lock design specialists are delivering a system that will enable high throughput, efficient operation and maintenance, with minimal water consumption, all within the stringent technical requirements and specifications established by ACP.  Examples of MWH high-value, reliable design solutions include:

  • Lock walls:  The cost-effective lock wall designs incorporate foundation drains that reduce the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads, enabling more efficient structures that achieve the performance goals for strength and durability.
  • Seismic design:  Using state-of-the-art seismic analysis techniques, MWH is developing lock wall configurations that meet stringent seismic criteria at minimum cost. 
  • Water consumption:  Water saving basins – the largest in the world – are designed to  reuse 60 percent of the fresh water consumed for lockages, with an optimized filling and emptying system that meets aggressive performance criteria for system efficiency and throughput.
  • Integrated operations and controls:  Through optimum design of operational features and control systems, lock operations will be seamless and efficient.  Design of the lock operating gates for rapid opening and closing, coupled with  an efficient filling and emptying system based on innovative hydraulic design, and state-of-practice control technologies, system safety, efficiency and throughput are maximized.

The $3.12 billion Third Set of Locks project will double the capacity of the Canal.