Incatema starts drilling the seabed for works to build a micro-tunnel for the marine outfall in Cambérène (Senegal)

30 August, 2022

INCATEMA Consulting & Engineering started drilling the seabed to build the micro-tunnel that serves as outlet for the marine outfall foreseen in Cambérène, Senegal. The act was attended by the Senegalese Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation, Mr. Serigne Mbaye THIAM, Director General from the Senegalese National Sanitation Office (ONAS), Mr. Ababakar MBAYE, ONAS Project Coordinator, Mr. Ousmane Dione, ONAS Project Director, Mr. Pedre Sy, representatives from the Spanish Embassy Economic Office in Senegal and other representatives from local authorities in Senegal.

Once the tunnel drilling equipment has been brought to the works site, including the tunnelling machine, the next step is to drill the seabed. It is a mechanical process that will allow placing more than 500 concrete pipes under the sea that will constitute a 1,200 m long micro-tunnel with a 2.2 m inner diameter. This large pipeline will have the purpose to let out treated wastewater from Cambérène wastewater treatment plant to high sea, a wastewater treatment plant being remodelled and enlarged by INCATEMA as well.

Fernando Díaz, Infrastructures Department Director at INCATEMA, points out that this complex work “is carried out with a sophisticated tunnelling machine with a closed shield that allows, while drilling the seabed, placing the concrete pipeline in 2.5 m trunks. The final segment will connect with a 100 m long high-density polyethylene pipe with 1/5920 m diameter with diffuser vanes to let out treated water to the sea ensuring near field dilution criteria, according to the project technical prescription”.

Cambérène marine outfall construction project is financed by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and contracted by ONAS, who recently checked on the good process of works as we mentioned here.

The marine outfall construction is part of a Senegalese governmental program to remove pollution in northern Dakar, a highly polluted city with serious impact on its population’s health and the fishing resources. This project therefore contributes to meeting UN SDG 6 “clean water” and SDG 14 “life under the sea”.