Puerto Rico dredging project to begin this fall

Puerto Rico Ports Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are gearing up for a major marine infrastructure project in the San Juan Harbor.

According to the Authority’s Executive Director Joel Pizá, earlier this week port officials hosted a delegation from the Army Corps in preparation for the dredging, deepening and widening of the area.

“This $60 million project will allow Puerto Rico to continue advancing in its energy transformation and will help the cruise industry,” said Joel Pizá.

In general, the project calls for dredging of the Army Terminal Channel from 40 feet to 44 feet deep, which will allow larger vessels to dock in the port.

“After this project, a ship will be able to transport 34.3 million gallons of LNG in San Juan Bay and not 5.2 million of gallons as it is now,” added Joel Pizá. “Also, larger cruise ships will be able to dock in our bay in the future and the time for docking maneuver will be reduced.”

If all goes according to schedule, dredging will commence this fall and will take a total of 18 months to complete.