Salini Impregilo has announced it has presented an offer to carry out the civil works for a $600 million project to expand the Yacyretà dam, located on the border of Paraguay and Argentina. The project would increase by 9%, or 270MW, the dam’s production capacity of 3.2GW.
Salini Impregilo was involved in the dam’s construction up to 1998. At the time of its completion, it was the longest in the world at nearly 70km. Built in several stages over more than a decade, the builders had to confront complex engineering problems due to the project’s size as well as the flow rate of the Parana river (the second biggest in South America after the Amazon River). There was also the need to implement safeguards for the environment and the local population.
The dam’s power station supplies about 60% of Argentina’s hydroelectricity, equal to some 22% of its energy needs.
