A little Croatian technology saving Venice from flooding.
After it has been selected as the best bidder, Brodosplit has undertaken a very complex project to build steel barriers which will protect the city of Venice. The contract is worth 50 million euros and includes 41 barriers in total. The construction is progressing according to the agreed schedule. Two barriers have already been completed and are ready for delivery, while 19 barriers are currently in various stages of the design and production process, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on November 20, 2015.
The client requires a high accuracy of production and long-term anti-corrosion protection. Strict requirements, the highest possible level of quality and the volume of project plans and other documents make this project technically and technologically more demanding than construction of a ship. Brodosplit is producing barriers 27-30 metres wide and 20 metres long, with a height of 4.5-5 metres and weighing 300 tons.
The project is part of an integrated protection system consisting of a series of mobile barriers which will be capable of separating the Venice lagoon from the Adriatic Sea when the tide exceeds the established level (110 cm), up to a maximum of three metres. The barriers will be places in Treporti, Malamocco, Chioggia and San Nicolo canals. For the construction of barriers in the fourth canal, San Nicolo, the bidding process is currently underway and Brodosplit has made its offer.
It is expected that 78 barriers in total will be installed, and they are designed as special tanks which will be filled with air or water. When they are filled with water, they will lie on the bottom of the sea, while when they are filled with air they will reach the surface and close the entrances to the lagoon. During those several hours, the Venice lagoon will be closed and ships will not be able to enter.
Brodosplit is extremely proud with this project, which is very important for the whole of Croatia as well, because it will remain forever remembered as a country which has participated in one of the largest construction projects in the Italian history, worth more than 7 billion euros in total.
With this project, Brodosplit has proven that, in addition to large ships, it is able to build very complex and demanding steel structures and that, with its knowledge and experience, it can compete with most of the world’s greatest shipyards.
