Punta Negra

San Juan, Argentina

A major infrastructure project that contributed to improving the use of water resources in the province of San Juan

  • 15,000

    hectares of land benefited from the expansion of local irrigation capabilities.

  • 300

    GWh annual output.

  • 40%

    of the province's electricity needs are supplied by Punta Negra and Los Caracoles.

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Punta Negra Hydroelectric Dam

The Punta Negra power plant produces clean energy and contributes to greater irrigation capabilities as well as creating a new tourism opportunity to benefit the province of San Juan.

Key facts

  • November 2009

    Contract signature and start of the project

  • 220,000 m3

    of reinforced concrete

  • 1,350

    workers at peak construction

  • August 2016

    End date

  • USD 438 million

    contract amount

  • November 2009

    Contract signature and start of the project

  • 220,000 m3

    of reinforced concrete

  • 1,350

    workers at peak construction

  • August 2016

    End date

  • USD 438 million

    contract amount

A fully functioning system

hotspot image description Intake
hotspot image description Spillway
Powerhouse
Substation
Bottom outlet
Dam
Reservoir
This is the image description

A fully functioning system

  • Intake

    The intake works need to be capable of discharging enough water to meet downstream needs.

  • Spillway

    This guarantees that reservoir water levels do not exceed the level of the crest of the dam in case of a rise in water levels or flooding in the San Juan river.

  • Powerhouse

    This is the location for the turbines and generators which convert the energy produced by the stationary hydraulic jump first into mechanical energy and then into electricity.

  • Substation

    Electricity is received from the powerhouse and sent to the high voltage line linking Los Caracoles and the city of San Juan.

  • Bottom outlet

    This drains the reservoir under the level of the intake during maintenance or emergency operations.

  • Dam

    Made of loose rock-fill with a concrete face, 118.40 m high and measuring 740 m along the crest.

  • Reservoir

    Enables 500 Hm3 of water to be available for electricity generation and irrigation.

01

07

  • hotspot image description
    01

    Intake

    The intake works need to be capable of discharging enough water to meet downstream needs.

  • hotspot image description
    02

    Spillway

    This guarantees that reservoir water levels do not exceed the level of the crest of the dam in case of a rise in water levels or flooding in the San Juan river.

  • 03

    Powerhouse

    This is the location for the turbines and generators which convert the energy produced by the stationary hydraulic jump first into mechanical energy and then into electricity.

  • 04

    Substation

    Electricity is received from the powerhouse and sent to the high voltage line linking Los Caracoles and the city of San Juan.

  • 05

    Bottom outlet

    This drains the reservoir under the level of the intake during maintenance or emergency operations.

  • 06

    Dam

    Made of loose rock-fill with a concrete face, 118.40 m high and measuring 740 m along the crest.

  • 07

    Reservoir

    Enables 500 Hm3 of water to be available for electricity generation and irrigation.

Customer Energía Provincial Sociedad del Estado (EPSE)
Scope of work Detail engineering, supply management, comprehensive construction and commissioning

Segment

Energy

The completion and commissioning of the Punta Negra Hydroelectric dam is a marker for over twelve years of uninterrupted work in the province of San Juan. We were able to draw on all our knowledge acquired and train new resources to expand our experience in the development of large-scale hydroelectric projects.

Taking the lessons learned at Los Caracoles, we developed a plan to shorten the execution periods for the different works, reducing slab casting times by over 50 percent. This led to significant improvements in productivity in general and shortened construction deadlines

Location

The province of San Juan is located in a semi-desert region in the northwest of Argentina. Its arid, irregular landforms stretch out from the foothills of the Andes to the Sierras Pampeanas, the structural relief running parallel to the Andes. Some 80% of the province is covered by rocky, mountainous terrain.

  • San Juan

    Province

  • -31.5184199

    Latitude

  • -68.8260028

    Longitude

Milestones

  • Contract signing

    The Techint-Panedile consortium signed a contract with Energía Provincial Sociedad del Estado to carry out the Punta Negra project.

    November

    2009

  • Intake works

    The first issue to be resolved was the construction of the sluice gate, a 60-meter high inclined reinforced concrete tower supported by rock with three internal pipes, each housing a gate, cofferdam and ventilation system. A self-climbing core wall system was designed on site with a stripping system using scissor-type support arms.

    >>

    2009

  • Slab at height

    A 90-centimeter-thick slab with cantilevered vertices had to be built on the operating platform, as conventional shoring was not feasible at 40 meters above ground. Two large precast beams were designed and built from which pre-stressed joists were set as the bottom of the self-supporting slab.

    >>

    2010

  • Spillway

    Building the spillway was a complex assignment due to its size and the number of construction stages required for the massive concrete face that, in turn, needed hydraulic profiles requiring special finishing. The key challenge was the fact that there was only one access from the road along the left bank of the dam at the height of the crest.

    >>

    2010

  • Materials and logistics

    Large cranes had to be located in three different positions with a radius of movement allowing them to cover the entire work area without interfering with each other’s movements. From this platform, more than 50,000 cubic meters of concrete were poured, and distribution pipes of up to 200 meters in length were laid in complex logistical conditions.

    >>

  • Concrete face

    One of the greatest challenges presented by the project concerned how the different construction stages were to dovetail with the filling of the dam itself. This process was affected by geological characteristics that were different from those foreseen on the left bank, and impacted on the programming of the execution stages.

    >>

  • Intake works

    The filling of the Punta Negra dam was completed

    >>

    2013

  • Intake works

    The first issue to be resolved was the construction of the sluice gate, a 60-meter high inclined reinforced concrete tower supported by rock with three internal pipes each housing a gate, cofferdam and ventilation system. A self-climbing core wall system was designed on site with a stripping system using scissor-type support arms.

    >>

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