Asphalt Sand Containment Cofferdam Closed at Pointe-Noire Port Project in the Republic of the Congo

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, the Lot2 dredging works of the Eastern Wharf Expansion Project at Pointe-Noire Port in the Republic of the Congo, in which CCCC Guangzhou Dredging participated, completed the closure of the asphalt sand containment cofferdam. The cofferdam is used to receive and centrally contain asphalt sand transported ashore after dredging. With the cofferdam closed, the project now has the engineering conditions to further expand asphalt sand dredging operations. The project entered the dredging construction phase in November 2025.

The Eastern Wharf Expansion Project at Pointe-Noire Port is undertaken by China Road and Bridge Corporation, with the works divided into two contract sections: onshore wharf construction and offshore dredging. Lot2 mainly involves dredging of the existing harbor basin and the new eastern wharf berths, as well as the transfer ashore, containment, and storage of asphalt sand. An asphalt sand layer exists on the seabed of the project area. Prior to construction, topographic, bathymetric, magnetic, geotechnical, and geophysical surveys were completed, including over 200 geotechnical boreholes, and a three-dimensional model of the asphalt sand layer was established to determine the dredging construction plan.

For asphalt sand dredging, three types of dredgers were deployed on site, along with 5.5 kilometers of floating oil booms, 4 kilometers of underwater isolation skirts, 2 auxiliary vessels, and adsorption and dispersion materials. Two monitoring and emergency response teams were also established, and drones were used for water area monitoring. Following the closure of the containment cofferdam, continuous construction conditions have now been established for the dredging, transfer ashore, and centralized containment processes.

The Eastern Wharf Expansion Project plans to construct 750 meters of new wharf frontage. As of July 6, 400 meters had been completed; steel pile installation for the wharf was completed on June 26, with a total of 558 steel piles driven. The new platform plans a 26-hectare storage yard, with a water depth of 17 meters at the wharf front, and two berths capable of accommodating container vessels up to 400 meters in length with a maximum capacity of approximately 24,000 TEU.

Congo Terminal currently plans to commission the new eastern wharf platform in the first half of 2027. Once operational, the terminal's annual container handling capacity is planned to increase to approximately 2.5 million TEU. In August, the owner ordered equipment including 5 ship-to-shore cranes, 15 electric rubber-tyred gantry cranes, and 30 electric terminal tractors for the subsequent operation of the new platform.