| Project Detail |
Bechtels Global Business Units collaborated for yet another Escondida effort: a water supply project. The Mining & Metals, Oil, Gas & Chemicals, and Power units worked together on a project to desalinate seawater and pump it from the port of Coloso to Escondida. The new facility is the second desalination plant at Coloso and will ensure a reliable, sustainable source of water for three copper concentrators. Adding freshwater capacity is crucial to sustaining value for Escondidas production and growth strategy. For the Escondida Water Supply Project, we constructed: A new seawater desalination plant with an intake and outfall system more than 65 feet (20 meters) below the surface of the Pacific Two large-diameter, lined pipelines 112 miles (180 kilometers) in length Four high-pressure pump stations to move the water east from the port across the Atacama Desert and up to a reservoir at the mine site A section of pipeline tunnel more than 1 mile (1.9 kilometers) long to bypass the community of Coloso A high-voltage electrical system and substations 33 miles (53 kilometers) of 220-kilovolt transmission lines Three new electrical substations and expanded four existing substations |
