ABB has supported a series of critical infrastructure projects in Ecuador, working with local engineering partner I2E to provide reliable power for regional hospitals and national financial institutions. Major new hospitals in Portoviejo, Guayaquil, Esmeraldas and a large new government complex in the capital Quito have all received high-performance medium- and low-voltage solutions using ABB’s latest technologies.
Freud Paredes Monteros, Managing Director of ABB in Ecuador, said: “When local partners need technical support, ABB is there for them. Our expert teams in Ecuador, Brazil and Europe made sure these projects had everything that was needed to achieve the reliability that critical facilities like hospitals and financial institutions require. Together, we ensured ABB’s wide portfolio of power technologies was used to maximum advantage, while achieving budget and timeline targets.”
Ecuador's infrastructure has seen increased investments in all sectors, from hospitals to factories. At the same time, the country’s government has been working to centralize its services making financial bodies more responsive and easier to work with. ABB has been working with I2E on power distribution solutions that provide these major investments with the robust reliability and high performance expected of these critical services.
Francisco Obando, managing CEO from I2E, said: “These are complex projects with high stakes and we must often work with incomplete engineering plans and challenging timescales. Working with ABB alone has been an advantage when developing and delivering solutions. It gives us a deeper understanding of every product’s capability with world-class support from ABB. With these advantages we are able to deliver the reliability, resilience and performance that is expected for world class projects.”
The new $200 million Portoviejo Specialty Hospital provides the coastal province of Manabi with more than 520 beds and 15 fully equipped operating rooms. The site has an installed capacity of 12MVA with 10 generators working in sync to provide backup power. ABB and I2E identified low-voltage solutions that guaranteed the safety and reliability of the installation. The team was responsible for the site’s medium-voltage distribution design as well as the low-voltage network with electrical panels, isolated panels, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and lighting. The hospital was completed in late 2017 and will be the main public hospital for the southwest region in Ecuador.
One of the largest infrastructure projects of its kind in Ecuador is a major building complex for the state’s financial bodies. The Plataforma Gubernamental de Gestion Financiera built in Quito consists of five building blocks that house 11 financial institutions with more than 4,000 civil servants. ABB and I2E jointly designed, built and commissioned the site’s substation, power distribution, generators, UPS systems, complete with a custom building management system and DALI-digital lighting control. The emphasis on energy efficiency, using ABB products, represents savings exceeding $25,000.00 per year in electricity costs compared to the original design. The project was completed in mid-2017.
Meanwhile, the Guasmo Sur General Hospital, in Guayaquil, adds over 400 beds to the healthcare system for Ecuador’s largest city and main port. The project is made up of six buildings with its own substation with an installed capacity of 10MVA. All electrical panels were built using ABB components to ensure mechanical and electrical reliability. The project was completed in mid-2017 and will serve the southern part of the city of Guayaquil with 13 fully equipped operating rooms.
Finally, the Esmeraldas Sur Hospital, in Esmeraldas, is a new 200-bed facility and the first hospital built in the city in over twenty years. Through I2E, ABB supplied the main components for the low-voltage distribution system, including all electrical panels. In particular, all transfer switches and synchronization panels were built using ABB components to ensure reliability and a long product life. The project was completed in late 2016 and will service a population of over 350,000 people in the province.
The latest ABB technologies were used in all the projects. The company’s advanced Tmax and Emax 2 circuit breakers with built-in connectivity and power control functions improve the performance and protection of the electrical systems. ABB’s insulated QSO switchgear has been specially developed to meet the strict power reliability needs of operating theatres in hospitals.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. As title partner of Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 136,000 employees.
