Future Development of the Port of Caldera, Costa Rica

In this report the port of Caldera, Costa Rica is discussed. The port was constructed in 1981. It has 3 berths. The most important cargo for the port are grains (import), and containers (mainly import). Ofthe other cargo, tuna is the most important. Not for its amount, but because of the waiting time for tuna ships and the time needed to discharge those ships. Two main problems are present at Caldera. The first is sedimentation. Haskoning has proposed a solution for this problem, namely extension of the present breakwater. The second problem is waiting time for the ships. Some container lines have excluded Caldera from their schedule because ofthose waiting times. As the total amount of cargo is expected to increase, there is need for a solution. This report consists ofthree parts. Part 1 contains a description ofthe present situation and expected changes. The problem definition and boundary conditions are discussed in Chapter 2. The environmental conditions are described in Chapter 3. To make an estimation ofthe future cargo growth, a correlation between Costa Rica's GDP and growth of cargo is made in Chapter 4. Given this cargo growth, an analysis of the expected ships is made in Chapter 5. These ships require adjustment ofthe present situation. In the first place, the port should meet the nautical requirements of those ships. Those requirements are determined in Chapter 6. In the second place the unloading of the vessels should not take to long. This may require new berths and equipment. This is discussed in Chapter 7 The requirements from Part 1 are used in Part 2. In Part 2 a future lay-out for the new port is made. First the existing plans are repeated and discussed briefly in Chapter 8. Most of those contain a new container terminal. This report prefers the installation of a new grain terminal. This would be less expensive and reduce the strain on the rest of the port. Furthermore the expected container vessels can be handled in the present harbour. Some adjustments will be necessary (Installation of cranes). The grain ships on the other hand are in need of a deeper berth. The expansion proposed by this report for 2010 and 2025 are shown in Chapter 9 In Part 2 the installation of a new grain terminal is proposed. In Part 3 this terminal is designed. First the loads on the terminal are determined in Chapter 10. In this chapter different fender systems are also discussed. Two alternatives ofthe terminal are designed. One with pile fenders and one with buckling fenders. In Chapter 11 those two alternatives are discussed. It is concluded that the force imposed on the structure due to earthquake loads is such that the jetty should also be able to withstand loads from the buckling fenders. Therefore, it is recommended to use buckling fenders. Finally in Chapter 12 the general conclusions and recommendations ofthis report are given. The main conclusion is the port can apply to future demand using fewer adjustments as those proposed until now. A new grain terminal combined with the installation of container cranes is enough for the demand of 2010..Hydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience