HARBOURS & COASTS
 

TECHNITAL’s involvement in the marine engineering sector has been greatly enhanced since 1986 when the Company was awarded the huge project for safeguarding Venice against the high tides, one of the largest marine engineering projects of our times.

This Project has involved not only the design of the mobile flood barriers at the three lagoon inlets, but also major dredging and coastal protection works, port, navigation and marine environmental studies, the design of quays, breakwaters, refuge harbors, and so on. Within this Project, TECHNITAL has studied and designed the three flap gate barriers whose total length exceeds 1,500 m. in water depths of up to -15 m, the restructuring and rehabilitation of about 13,000 m. of quay walls and berths for fishing and coastal vessels, barges, ferries and general cargo and the complete rehabilitation of the six breakwaters protecting the three entrances of the Venice Lagoon for a total length of about 6,500 m. The total estimated cost of the whole safeguarding plan amount to 9 billion Euros. 

The experience of the Company has since extended to cover all areas of marine and coastal engineering, including the planning of port layouts and in the design of harbor facilities, flood control barriers, breakwaters and coastal protection works. 

TECHNITAL is particularly experienced in the port sector where it is engaged in the study and design of major ports, such as the Industrial Port of Ras Laffan in Qatar, the biggest LNG port ever constructed in the world, which cost nearly one billion US$, with 10 km of breakwaters, 10 LNG and LPG berths. The firm was recently awarded the contract for the study of the Master Plan of the Port of Trieste which takes into consideration, further to the technical problems connected to rehabilitation of the marine structures, the reorganisation of the congested transport infrastructures and the establishment of a new Free Zone that will dramatically foster the development of the city and of the whole Adriatic area.  

TECHNITAL is considered a world leader in the field of coastal protection engineering. The firm has recently designed the strengthening and improvement of approximately 80 km of littorals between the estuaries of Piave and Adige rivers in the North Adriatic sea, including the construction of more than 40 km of groynes and submerged berms and artificial beach nourishment with more than 20 million cu m. of sand. These works, for a total  cost of some US$ 400 million, are expected to increase the hydraulic safety of the area and foster the economic development of the coast zone where intensive tourist activities have been recently established. 

During the last decade TECHNITAL has performed studies and engineering services in the marine sector for a total value of more than 100 million US$. It has provided the preliminary and detailed design of marine works, already constructed or under construction, for a construction cost exceeding 2,500 million US$, including breakwaters in water depths of over 35 m, quay walls, dredging and land reclamation.