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The floodgate separates the water level downriver, which varies with the tides, the periods of rain and the ebb tide, from the water level upriver, in the marina, which has a constant depth and is not subject to tides.

The floodgate has a double purpose: to regulate the water level within the commercial area, and to protect the city from flooding. Because the river depth had increased, it was necessary to replace the existing floodgate, built more than 50 years ago (200 m long, 24.36 m wide and 8 m deep) with the new one (434 m long, 35 m wide and 10 m deep) located nearby. In this manner, access is possible for ships up to 20,000 TPM and 290 m. The challenge consisted in the large amount of concrete to be cast, the big thicknesses and heights, as well as the short building periods. The service and performance provided, combined with the detailed technical assistance on site, fulfilled all the expectations.

- Garages and counter-garages: adjacent to the buttresses, the garages hold the lockgates. Each garage has two holes, 55 and 21 m high, where the lockgates are (one primary and the other as a reserve). Around these holes and in the counter-garages, there is a 5 x 5 m gallery that makes up the emptying and filling channels of the floodgate. The galleries diverge at their mid-point in order to house the valves in the gate area, the ones that allow closing or opening the water flow.