We are- Nº8

I N N O V A T I O N 41 I N N O V A T I O N land transport infrastructures, as is the case in much of South America. Other foreseeable projects would be in Europe (Port of Tilbury, in the United Kingdom and others) as well as in North America. Many of the- se major developments around the world are associated with the rapid evolution of container transport, with the rapid evolution of the fleet and the improvement in efficiency brought about by the introduction of technologies such as blockchain. The Council of PIANC recently proposed to its General Assem- bly your appointment, as the only candidate, for the international presidency, to be ratified next June. What lines of action are you considering for the coming years? PIANC (The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructu- re) is the only association dedicated to the infrastructure of ports and coasts worldwide, bringing together almost all the world’s experts. Within the framework of the Strategic Plan 2019-2023, we will press ahead in the process of disseminating and sharing the state of the art of infras- tructure engineering. In addition, we stress sharing this knowledge with developing countries, integrating them in PIANC through the Coope- ration Commission. We will pay special attention to the environmental framework, by pro- moting the Working with Nature prin- ciple in the conception and design of infrastructures and we will tackle fundamental social challenges, such as the decarbonisation of logistics chains, through infrastructures, both in their procurement process and in terms of their contribution to low-carbon maritime transport. We will not only focus on the prevention of climate change but also on dea- ling with its consequences by ob- taining more resilient structures in view of their impact. Leadership in the Navigating a Changing Climate coalition and active participation in the World Port Sustainability Pro- gram will play an important role in all of this. What maritime works projects ca- rried out by FCC Construcción in recent years would you highlight due to their technical complexity? There is a before and an after of what has probably been the most complex port work carried out in Spain: the enlargement of the Port of El Musel in Gijón. The need to build a dock with a section of caissons in a maritime environment as hostile as the Cantabrian Sea led to the deve- lopment of specific techniques for towing and anchoring large floating caissons made of reinforced concre- te under very unfavourable agitation conditions. The experience gained has subsequently enabled the floa- ting and anchoring of the caissons in the shelter dock at the Port of Açu (Brazil). Finally, from the point of view of the quality of the concrete and the exe- cution process, I would highlight the recent execution of caissons in the Port of Algeciras (Cádiz) for their transfer to the vicinity of Saint Pe- tersburg, where they will be subject to the action of icy waters in an LNG terminal. FCC Construcción is strong in ter- ms of its own capacity and resour- ces. Have the construction techni- ques for the caissons evolved? Construction techniques are cons- tantly evolving. FCC Construcción’s objective is to remain at the forefront of all these processes. FCC Construcción has three floating docks for manufacturing caissons. The design of each of these incor- porates all the improvements and innovations developed in the pre- viously built dock. The most modern, the Mar del Enol, already eliminates the climbing bars. This facilitates the process of sliding the formwork and integrates considerable improve- ments with respect to similar docks. It can be described as the most mo- dern and best of its kind. Last but not least, FCC Construcción has carried out specific transport and anchorage studies for the works and based on this, R+D+i projects have been undertaken with great success, providing us with a set of knowledge in the maritime manoeuvring of the caissons that undoubtedly places us at the forefront of the sector.