BAUER : Spezialtiefbau GmbH has finished the construction of a cut-off wall in Mauritius

Mauritius - The island nation of Mauritius is getting a new dam for a water reservoir that will ensure supply of drinking water for the population. The last panel of the cut-off wall was constructed on 9 May 2015, almost exactly a year after work commenced for the EUR 35 million Bagatelle Dam Project. Reason enough for a small celebration, which Prof. Thomas Bauer, Chairman of the Management Board of BAUER AG, also took part in, along with the Chinese ambassador as well as representatives of the China International Water & Electric Corp., the project's main contractor.

Bauer Spezialtiefbau constructed a 2.4 kilometer long diaphragm cut-off wall (56,781 square meters), socketed into rock. The soil partially consists of very hard basalt - about 20,000 square meters of slightly to moderately weathered basalt had to be penetrated over the entire structure for the new dam. Furthermore, in the central dam area, heavy layers of basalt, up to 28 meter deep, were removed in order to construct the cut-off wall with the specified depth. Three duty cycle cranes of the type MC 96 and MC 128 with a BC 40 trench cutter, as well as two grabs were used.

The Republic of Mauritius is an island state in the Indian Ocean and is about 2,000 kilometers southeast off the African coast. Despite plenty of rainfall, the country has problems with ensuring water supply because of lack of storage capacity on the island. The Bagatelle Dam Project will change that. The Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities of Mauritius is the client.