2015–2016

Escondida Water Supply (EWS)

Submarine intake and discharge works for the BHP EWS desalination plant in Coloso, with tunnels and structures of 400 tons.

The world's largest copper operation required securing its supply of desalinated water through large-scale underwater intake and discharge works, carried out in the open sea and under demanding oceanographic conditions.

STS Scope

Construction of the underwater intake and discharge works for the EWS seawater desalination plant. The scope included two 2,000 mm diameter underwater intake tunnels (530 m each), a 2,000 mm diameter discharge outfall pipe, the recovery of the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) from a sea shaft at -40 m, underwater concreting of foundations, and the underwater assembly of 400-ton intake structures and the discharge pipes with their diffusers. STS had previously carried out the marine geotechnical studies and tunnel engineering, with over 220,000 man-hours completed without accidents.

Differentiator

STS handled everything from marine geotechnical studies and tunnel engineering to underwater construction, including the underwater assembly of 400-ton intake structures and the recovery of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) from the seabed, using commercial-grade saturation diving and work-class ROVs. This flagship, world-class project was completed with over 220,000 man-hours and no accidents.

Key data

Intake tunnels2 × 2,000 mm / 530 m
Adduction structures400 tons each
Security+220,000 hours without accidents
Technology and InfrastructureCommercial Industrial Saturation Diving + ROV Work Class

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More than six decades of experience developing subsea infrastructure, offshore operations, and marine engineering solutions for mining, energy, and desalination in Chile and Latin America.

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Escondida Water Supply (EWS)

STS Scope

Differentiator

Get in touch with us and let's talk.

We build infrastructure.We Build Careers, Too.

We build infrastructure.
We Build Careers, Too.