Reference cases and projects

Missions:
Rehabilitation of the dam's hydromechanical equipment and an audit aimed at commissioning the dam as economically as possible: wall-mounted slide gates and fixed-wheel gates, travelling cranes (up to 320 tonnes), screen rakes, 3 penstocks of 6 m in diameter, hydraulic jacks and electrical fittings.

The F&M solution:
Feljas & Masson diagnosed the dam using a scanner to identify the civil engineering techniques deployed. Nondestructive ultrasound tests were conducted to detect the weak points of the metallic components and to reverse engineer only the "strictly necessary" upgrades. Risk control and diplomacy were de rigueur - substantial efforts were made to source manpower and logistics locally and to transfer materials in complex geopolitical conditions given that Abkhazia is controlled by the Russian military.

Key data:

Pro-Russian Abkhazia is an autonomous province of Georgia which proclaimed itself independent in 1992. Tensions increased following the Russo-Georgian war in 2008 and today the Russian military controls the Abkhazian territory. The Vardnili 1 dam, equipped with three 70 MW turbines, is located in the territory of Abkhazia but is operated by Georgia. A modus vivendi agreement allows both "states" to utilize the dam's electricity production. Feljas & Masson's bid won the call for tenders to rehabilitate the hydromechanical equipment for the dam, a project funded by Europe.