On Friday December 14, Odebrecht Engineering & Construction (OEC) and the Naval Group, through Itaguaí Construções Navais (ICN), launched the Brazilian Navy’s first conventional Riachuelo class submarine into the sea. Built at the Itaguaí Naval Complex, located in the metropolitan zone of Rio de Janeiro, the Riachuelo is the first of four conventional submarines that will be delivered by 2023 and one of the milestones of the Submarine Development Program (Prosub). The submarine now moves on to the testing phase and completion of commissioning the equipment and the vessel. Prosub, which started in 2013, will culminate in the construction and maintenance of the first Brazilian nuclear-powered submarine, which is the program’s ultimate objective.  

The scope of Odebrecht Engineering & Construction’s activity is also related to the construction of the Yard and Naval Base, where the company is responsible for three work fronts:   

• The Metallic Structure Manufacturing Unit (UFEM): the 57,000 square meter industrial complex with 45 buildings to manufacture Prosub submarine components. Besides the administrative area, the UFEM also has a main building with various workshops and a warehouse. The unit opened in March 2013.
• North Area: location of the pre-molded item and tubular stake factory where the Yard and Naval Base are under construction. It will also house a radioactive decontamination center, an on-site bus terminal, an environmental monitoring laboratory, administrative offices and a Nuclear, Bacteriological, Chemical and Radiological Defense Battalion.
• South Area: location to install the radiological complex and Naval Base Construction and Maintenance Yards.

“Preparation of this area, the construction and technology required at a project of this complexity shows the capacity of national engineering to deliver innovative projects,” confirms Fabio Januário, CEO of Odebrecht Engineering & Construction. 

The Naval Base Yard project alone employs 2,000 direct and 6,000 indirect co-workers and presents a 62% advance. Currently 85% of the members on these projects are residents of Itaguaí and neighboring towns. During the project, OEC has always prioritized hiring local labor in order to maximize regional development. The Itaguaí Naval Complex, including ICN, employs a total of 5,000 direct members. 

Technological transfer

The Brazilian Navy agreement to produce submarines is part of one of the largest technological development platforms underway in the country.  It envisages the transfer of complete construction technology for the conventional class submarines that, on completion, will equip Brazil with the capacity to plan and construct its own vessels.

The program also has the capacity to boost the economy in various sectors, since more than 100 national companies act as suppliers of technology and products to develop the submarines and projects. Approximately 90% of all the equipment that OEC uses at the Naval Base Yard are acquired from companies based in Brazil. The projects also encourage the development of new custom-made equipment for the challenges set by the program. One of these, for example, is a press with the capacity to move 8,000 tons, used to mold the submarine’s metallic structure.

Work on the complex has also provided challenges in the structural aspects of the construction. For example, some of the quay stakes are up to 50 meters in length. In addition, part of the land where the Naval Base Yard is being constructed required special treatment. Identified before the work began, some sections required decontamination by removing part of the soil layer, which was then deposited at a site authorized by the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). Following this process, the sea-life was returned, which demonstrates the environmental balance achieved. Various species of fish, as well as dolphins and porpoises, can now be seen along the quay at the Naval Base Yard.

Technical capacity

Odebrecht Engineering & Construction’s technical capacity has been demonstrated in the thousands of projects executed in Brazil and around the world since its establishment in 1954. The company has won 14 awards in the last six years, conferred by the most important publication on world engineering, the American journal, ENR-Engineering News Record, which is a reference in the sector.