Witteveen+Bos Panama

Witteveen+Bos Panama was established in February 2020 to better serve the Latin American and Caribbean markets, areas where it has been active for decades. Panama was chosen because of its central location in the region. 

The Latin American and Caribbean regions are facing major challenges in dealing with climate change, waste water treatment, environmental pollution and rapid urbanisation, and in securing energy supplies and providing adequate transport infrastructure. To help manage this, we are focusing on three areas: delta technology and ports, water technology and sanitation, and resilient cities. However, we also offer professional support for projects related to offshore wind energy and geothermal energy. We provide expertise on project phases including the preparation and supervision of site investigations, pre-feasibility studies, feasibility studies, pre-FEED, FEED, technical specifications, tender documents, tender guidance, and construction/dredging supervision. We are also specialized in cost estimations (CAPEX and OPEX), (social) cost-benefit analyses, and economic and technical feasibility studies.

The Panama office has extensive knowledge in design processes that are CO2-aware, sustainable, circular and climate-friendly, and which adhere to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Our professionals combine their state-of-the-art technical skills and expertise with sustainable design principles and nature-based solutions that benefit asset owners and clients as well as society as a whole. We provide added value in nature conservation, mangrove restoration and marine ecology, and we can provide guidance for environmental and social impact assessments.

ISO 9001 is the world's best known and most widely used certification scheme when it comes to quality management systems. ISO 27001 is the world-wide norm for information security. 
 

Expertise: How can we help you?

We can provide support for projects in the Latin American and Caribbean regions in the following fields of expertise:

In recent years, many challenging projects have been carried out in Latin America in the field of delta technology and ports, such as a design for a the third set of locks (Panama); a design for a Flood Early Warning System for the Mamoré River (Bolivia); a technical feasibility study for Royal Port (Colombia); a feasibility study for the shipping bypass of Itaipu Dam (Paraguay/Brazil); the design of a maritime terminal in the port of Montevideo (Uruguay); and a stability analysis of large mine tailing dams (Brazil).

We can assist you with the following disciplines in delta technology and ports:

Coasts, rivers and land reclamation

  • Hydrodynamic and morphological numerical modelling of seas and rivers;
  • Offshore and riverside land reclamation, artificial islands and foundations of structures;
  • Offshore subsea and river infrastructure (pipelines and cables);
  • Coastal and river engineering and morphology;
  • River and waterways engineering including hydraulic structures such as dykes, revetments, groynes and breakwaters.

 

Hydraulic structures and geotechnical engineering

  • Geological, geotechnical, structural and seismic analysis and design of hydraulic structures such as flood barriers, locks, (fish friendly) pumping stations, tidal turbines, weirs and bridge pillars and their foundations;
  • Structural assessment of existing structures, life-time analysis and asset management;
  • Dam breach studies;
  • Design and safety of dams and dykes.

 

Ports and waterways

  • Sustainable port development and master planning;
  • Nautical design and safety of ports and waterways;
  • Guidance of real-time and fast-time nautical simulations and mooring analysis;
  • Geological, geotechnical, structural and seismic analysis and design of port structures including quay walls, jetties and breakwaters;
  • Dredging technology.

 

Integrated river basin management

  • Flood management and protection;
  • Integrated water resources management (IWRM);
  • Hydrological modelling;
  • Flood Early Warning Systems (FEWS) and Decision Support (DS);
  • Irrigation, drainage and agriculture.

We have significant experience in the water technology and sanitation sector in Latin America, working on demanding projects such as the investigation of the water sector’s regionalisation (Colombia); the formulation of specific NRW action plans for several drinking water companies (Colombia); the analysis of solutions for the tannery industry in Bogota (Colombia); and waste analysis (Colombia).

We can assist you with the following disciplines in water technology and sanitation:

  • Process, civil, mechanical and electrical designs for drinking and wastewater treatment plants;
  • Drinking water transmission and distribution;
  • Non-revenue water (NRW) reduction;
  • Institutional, strategic and operational support for water companies and operators;
  • Drinking, waste and/or storm water pumping stations;
  • Water reuse and water scans for water reduction;
  • Desalination and brine treatment;
  • Renewable energy and energy efficiency;
  • Bio-energy and resource recovery from sludge lines;
  • Asset management.

We have worked on various projects related to the field of resilient cities in Latin America, such as the development of a strategic drainage plan and the design of no-regret measures for urban drainage (Trinidad); the design of a new high-quality bicycle path in Bogota (Colombia); and a feasibility study for a new high-quality bicycle path in San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima (Peru).

We can assist you with the following disciplines in cities and urban areas:

Resilience against all type of floods and water scarcity (climate adaptation)

  • Modelling and design of urban drainage and storm water systems to prevent pluvial flooding, including nature-based (NB) solutions and Sustainable Urban Drainage Solutions (SUDS);
  • Flood hazard and flood risk modelling and mapping;
  • Disaster risk management, climate adaptation and adaptation pathways;
  • Water supply, re-use and circulation.

 

Resilience against mobility congestion

  • Sustainable urban mobility strategies;
  • Planning and design of bicycle and walking infrastructure;
  • Urbanization and landscape plans.

Our projects

Panama office

Panama City (Panama)

More information?

Paul Ravenstijn

Managing director Witteveen+Bos Panama