Physical modelling studies for a major breakwater at a proposed port expansion project in San Antonio, Chile are underway by HR Wallingford and The Instituto Nacional de Hidráulica (INH).

The outer port project, known as the Puerto de Gran Escala (PGE), would be a major expansion of the existing port infrastructure of Puerto San Antonio, Chile.  The proposal involves staged development of the port over a 19-year time span, with an estimated overall cost of $3.4 billion.

The construction of the new breakwater to shelter the terminals involves a first section perpendicular to the coast, approximately 1.5 km in length, followed by another section of about 2.4 km long running parallel to the coast, for which over 1.8 km² of land will be reclaimed.

When fully completed, San Antonio’s outer port will have a breakwater of over 3.9 km long. The design includes an access channel and dredging of the turning basin and the interior harbor to ensure accessibility for E-class container ships, including under unfavorable weather conditions.

Work on the breakwater could begin by 2020, and the first stage of the first terminal may start operating by 2026 or 2027. The outer port would then be developed in discrete stages, to be fully completed by 2038 or 2040.

Read the full update at HR Wallingford.

Images courtesy of Puerto San Antonio, Chile.