Brodosplit Joins Venice Project

Croatian based Brodosplit has been contracted to provide steel floodgates for the MOSE (ital. Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) project in Venice. The value of the contract is EUR 26.5 million (USD 36 million).

The Adriatic sea currently floods Venice about 50 times per year, mostly in autumn and winter months, and the entire City is flooded in five year intervals.

Brodosplit will deliver 21 steel floodgates, 29 x 24 meters, 6 meters thick and weighing 300 tons.  The floodgates will be delivered in shipments of three by sea route directly to the mouth, where they will be installed. Expected delivery time is 60-90 days.

Floodgates are designed as special tanks filled with air or water. When filled with water, the floodgates will sink to the bottom of the sea.

When filled with air they will rise towards the sea surface and close lagoon inlets. After the air is pumped out, they will be filled with water again and laid at the sea bottom.

Three canals leading to the Venetian Lagoon are to be closed prior to the tide coming from the open sea. Those canals are the Mouth of Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia, and the project envisages fitting of 80 floodgates with a life cycle of 50 years.

The project is an integrated protection system consisting of mobile floodgates capable of separating the Venetian Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea in cases of tide higher than the established level (110 cm), up to the maximum of three meters.

During this several hours the Venetian Lagoon would be closed for the ship traffic.

“Brodosplit is extremely proud of this Contract because we were chosen from a group of some very reputable shipbuilders and steel construction manufacturers.

We will remain forever listed as one of the companies that participated in one of the biggest Italian construction projects ever, worth more than EUR 7 billion (USD 9.53 billion),  and contributing to saving Venice from problems caused by tides,” said Tomislav Debeljak, CEO at Brodosplit.

[mappress]

May 29, 2014