Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex Construction Overview

In the Rostov Region, Stroytransgaz Group is proceeding with construction of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex, one of the largest transport infrastructure facilities in the South of Russia. The project is being executed by Stroytransgaz. The Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex is designed to address the navigation bottleneck on the Lower Don, providing the necessary dimensions of the waterway.

Work is well underway both on Arpachinsky Island, where the shipping lock with a central control room will be placed, and in the excavation for the spillway dam, as well as in the head and tail race sections, where the upstream and downstream berthing channels with mooring assistance structures and the fishway and spawning facilities, which include the channel bed and six spawning grounds, will be located.

The spillway dam comprising 12 sections with an overall length of 307 metres are continuing to be reinforced. More than 170 tons of rebar is used for each section.

– Next month we plan to start pouring the first sections of the spillway dam with concrete mix. Today we are completing the reinforcement of four slabs, with one slab already fully in the formwork. Also in September, we will complete the pouring of the vertical walls of the head control gate of the fishway and spawning channel. Work is in progress to install mooring assistance structures. More than 1,300 Larsen sheet piles have been sunk, said Levani Khumarashvili, the Construction Management Director of the Bagayevsky Hydroelectric Complex at Stroytransgaz.

Dewatering to lower the groundwater level and soil removal continues in the lock excavation pit. Wellpoint systems are used for this purpose – pumping units consisting of wellpoints, a water collector and a pumping unit. As the depth of the pit increases, the wellpoint filters are re-installed in tiers. To date, the excavation depth has reached minus 6 meters elevation and the wellpoint filters have been re-installed on the third tier.

Construction of channel guide structures in the head and tail races is underway to ensure the safe passage of ships in the area of the hydroelectric complex. The mooring structure on the left side of the navigation pass is built in the form of an anchored bulwark, a mooring structure consisting of a thin vertical wall and anchor facilities. The front sheet pile wall will be anchored to in-situ RC anchor slabs. The anchor walls are 45% complete. The mooring structure on the right side of the navigation pass is completely offshore. The front and rear walls are made from Larssen sheet piles. The mooring structure faces have a curved shape. These sections are anchored to the pile foundation frame (the top part of the pile foundation that distributes the load from the load-bearing components). 100% of 720mm-dia. 20m-long steel pipe piles has been sunk for the pile foundation grillage. Reinforcement work is 54% complete, formwork installation is 67% complete, and concreting is 57% complete.

– Currently, the main phase of construction of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex is underway. The key engineering solutions for the main structures at the Complex site are being implemented. Given the importance of the facility for improving the conditions of the region's water management complex, reliability and safety of navigation of large-capacity fleet, Rostransmodernizatsiya together with the general contractor and construction participants are carrying out construction and installation works 24/7, said Denis Akhayev, Deputy CEO of Rostransmodernizatsiya.

Works are underway along the following sections of the fishway and spawning channel: head control gate (a hydraulic structure consisting of an inlet section, a flood bed part and an outlet section), channel bed and spawning grounds.

Pouring of concrete for vertical parts of retaining walls and reinforcing of apron slabs, as well as abutments and piers is in progress at head control gate of the fishway and spawning channel. Waterproofing of external surfaces in contact with the backfill is in progress. The channel line has been fully developed, and work is underway to fill the bed and slopes of the channel with crushed stone. The head control gate intake is erected. The construction of the estuary control gate for the fifth spawning ground is in progress.

Rostransmodernizatsiya Federal State Unitary Enterprise is the state customer of the project.

For reference:
Race is an area where the water meets the hydraulic structure. The head race is upstream, while the tail race is downstream.
Pier is an intermediate support of a hydraulic structure.
Abutment is an on-bank substructure of a hydraulic structure.
Apron is a pad reinforcing the bottom of a watercourse to protect it from scouring.

Project background:
The Bagayevsky Hydroelectric Complex is the most important infrastructure project not only for the Rostov region, but also for the whole country. The hydroelectric complex under construction will be composed of a shipping lock with a central control room, upstream and downstream berthing channels with mooring assistance structures, a spillway and an earth fill dams, a meandering fishway and spawning channel and a fish passage lock, as well as industrial, service, engineering and auxiliary facilities, and housing for operating personnel. To ensure the navigation safety, channel-regulating dams are being constructed, as well as shore protection dams that will prevent the development of bank erosion processes (washout and collapse), protect from the impact of ship waves and reduce the negative impact of waters on the population living in these areas. In order to ensure guaranteed waterway dimensions (depth of 4m, width of 80m, bending radius of 500m) at the section from the Kochetovsky Hydroelectric Complex site at the 3,004.5 kilometre mark of the waterway of the Integrated Deep Water System (IDWS) to the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex site at the 3,089 kilometre mark of the IDWS waterway, dredging and river cut-off are envisaged.