READY FOR THE FUTURE

Since 2015, Soetaert is part of dredging, offshore and construction company Jan De Nul Group. The integration brought us major, challenging and international projects, often in cooperation with the civil and dredging division of the global player that we are now part of.

Our know-how about a very broad range of foundation techniques and our modern machinery combined with the expertise and innovative drive within Jan De Nul Group leads to great projects and results. More than ever, we can offer our clients overall solutions to size. 

As a Jan De Nul Group company, Soetaert was, among others, co-responsible for the construction of a new quay for the PSA Terminal in Panama. To optimise both the quality and the cost and time efficiency of the project, Jan De Nul Group developed a new innovative method. The new quay, which was built at right angles to the existing quay, was largely built in a dry building pit, up to 23 metre below sea level.  A dike shielding both the Panama Canal and the Pacific Ocean made this possible.  The new container quay rests on five rows of foundation piles. Their installation was not an easy job given the heterogeneous subsoil. Still, thanks to our in-house expertise in foundation techniques, the high level of difficulty and complexity of this project was never a problem. On top of these piles, over a width of 35 metres, large concrete prefabricated elements were placed. Jan De Nul Group started its own production of these prefabricated elements, fabricating elements of almost 60 tonnes and transporting them to their final location. Finally, the surface was finished with in-situ cast reinforced concrete, including a rail system for container cranes and all quay equipment. Using our own earthmoving equipment, we excavated over 2 million m³. Once the building pit was under water, Jan De Nul Group dredged another 2 million m³.  

Also for the world’s biggest lock, the enormous Kieldrecht lock in Antwerp, we used a wide range of foundation and sheet piling techniques. A lock that can only be described using superlatives and is no doubt ready for the future. And so are we.

Soetaert: building on firm foundations!