Press Releases 2002

March 4, 2002
Cable-stayed bridge over the Panama Canal with a total value of €110 million: Bilfinger Berger cements status as leading international specialist in infrastructures

Bilfinger Berger AG, together with its Australian affiliated company Baulderstone Hornibrook, has been awarded the contract to erect a cable-stayed bridge over the Panama Canal. The 1,000-meter-long structure near Panama City will relieve the burden on the only other existing bridge across the canal in that region, as well as decisively improving access to its hinterland. The client is the Republic of Panama, and the total value of the contract is €110 million. The ground-breaking ceremony was led by Panama's President Mireya Moscoso on February 28, 2002. Bilfinger Berger will be responsible for the maintenance of the structure for three years after its completion.

The weight of the bridge's 420-meter-long main span is suspended from two pylons 180 meters high. The six-lane carriageway slab, which is 34 meters wide, is to be erected 80 meters above the canal's surface by means of the free cantilevering technique in order to avoid obstructing shipping on the Panama Canal while work is in progress.

Bilfinger Berger is among the world's leading contractors for major infrastructure projects. Cable-stayed bridges are one of the company's acknowledged specialities. Only a few weeks ago, the American affiliated company Fru-Con was awarded the contract to erect a cable-stayed bridge over the Maumee River in the US state of Ohio. In mid-2000, the Bilfinger Berger Group completed the My Thuan Bridge spanning the Mekong River in Vietnam eight months ahead of schedule. Its design is inspired by the Anzac Bridge in Sydney, which was constructed by the Bilfinger Berger affiliated company Baulderstone Hornibrook in the mid-1990s.

Bilfinger Berger regards the intensification of its international activities as an important stra-tegic objective. Its priority is to take on challenging infrastructure projects and strengthen the position it already enjoys in selected markets.