Berbice River, Guyana
Entrance Channel Improvements Field Investigation
Guyana exports over 2 million tons of bauxite from its mines near the headwaters of the Berbice River annually. The bauxite has historically been transloaded into Panamax or Handymax-size (35,000 – 80,000 DWT) bulk carriers off the river mouth and shipped to various ports in the Caribbean and North America for use as the primary material in the manufacture of aluminum. Shallow water depths due to high sedimentation rates at the river entrance restrict the safe and economical loading of the bulk carriers, which generated a request for proposals from the bauxite industry for an offshore harbor and 15-km-long access channel.
Located in eastern Guyana with headwaters in the Rupununi region, the Berbice is one of the country’s major rivers, flowing northward for 370 miles (595 km) through dense forests and coastal plain. Employed by a multi-national dredging contractor, Lally conducted field reconnaissance to investigate the Berbice River entrance channel and offshore berthing locations to be dredged, collected sediment samples, additional site information, and managed logistics to travel with the sediment samples to the United States for laboratory analyses. The geotechnical data and field information were used to develop conceptual dredging and offshore breakwater designs, and feasibility-level cost estimates for the project.
Expertise
Field Reconnaissance
Dredging and Wave Attenuator Planning
Geotechnical Exploration and Sample Analyses
International Logistics
Location
New Amsterdam, British Guyana