South and Central America is one of the most promising regions in the world for economic growth, it is predicted that the area will become the world construction leader in the next five years.

Brazil is the clear front-runner in the area with their focus on investment for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. But it is more than just Brazil, many of the smaller markets are performing well as populations grow and governments continue to promote investments in large scale infrastructure such as hydropower, water and sanitation projects.

We see good long-term prospects in the region especially in the renewable power area.

Bajo de Mina Hydroelectric Project (Panama)

During construction of the 30 m (98 ft.) tall dam face, leaks appeared at all the cold joints along the face formed by the Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) layers. The applicator used Kryton’s Krystol Crack Repair System to repair all the leaking joints across the dam face, then the whole area was coated with Kryton’s T1 & T2 Waterproofing System.

The final part of the dam face was completed using Kryton’s Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM) admixture. The repaired Bajo de Mina Dam supplies a stable 36 MW of energy per hour for the region. The construction team was so pleased with the results that when it came to constructing the Baitun Dam they also selected Kryton.

Baitun Dam (Panama)

The Baitun Dam is part of a large hydroelectric power generation project along the Chiriqui Viejo River in Panama which also includes the Bajo De Mina Dam (another Kryton project). Kryton’s Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM) admixture was added to the mix to construct the massive dam face using Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC). The RCC method of construction causes many joints along the dam face, these joints were reinforced using Kryton’s Krystol Crack Repair System and then the entire face was coated with Kryton’s surface-applied Krystol T1 and T2 system. Over 20,000 kg (44,000 lb.) of KIM was used on this project.

Blanc Monterrico (Guatemala)

Blanc Monterrico is a luxury resort development on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. The site features pools, a private beach, tropical gardens, ponds, trails, sports fields, and a marine club.

Each villa also features a private, above ground, infinity pool that sits over living areas – so waterproofing was absolutely crucial. The construction team used Kryton’s Krystol Internal Membrane to waterproof the private infinity pools.

INDE Head Office (Guatemala)

INDE (National Institute for Electricity) is tasked with local power production for Guatemala. The growing organization expanded their current building by constructing an extra floor on top of the same building. The roof of the additional floor would also be a parking lot. To protect the offices below the parking floor the construction team used Kryton’s Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM) concrete waterproofing admixture to waterproof the 3500 cubic meters (123, 600 cubic feet) of concrete in the slab.

Trend City Center (Brazil)

Trend City Center is a new development in Brazil that will offer residential, corporate and commercial space. The contractor selected Kryton products to waterproof the large scale job because of the ease of use and technical support offered by the local distributor – LWART Quimica. Marcel Leiban, an engineer with the project contractor said “We evaluated other options, but chose Kryton because it is technically superior to the competitors and for LWART’s strong background.”

Alfonso Urquidi

Kryton has exclusive distributors throughout Central and South America.

Contact Alfonso Urquidi, Territory Manager at alfonso@kryton.com

or by phone at 011.5281.1813.3581 or +1.604.324.8280.