Five Potains work on Bahrain World Trade Centre
15 December 2006Five Potain tower cranes are providing the necessary lifting power for the construction of the Bahrain City Gardens project - also known as the Bahrain World Trade Center. The structure rises over 240m (787 ft) above the heart of the capital, Manama and comprises two 50-storey towers joined at several points by 30m (98 ft) bridges. The cranes arrived on-site in February 2005 and were supplied by Abu Dhabi, UAE, based rental firm NFT.
Five Potains at the Bahrain World Trade Centre
Varieties of both large and small machines are on-site to meet the varying demands of the construction. A 16 t (17.6 USt) MC 300-K16 is the largest and tallest working crane, climbed to a height under hook of 260 m (853 ft) using 70 m (230 ft) of jib. The MC 300-K16 was erected to install heavy steel structures on both towers and to dismantle two 8 t (8.8 USt) MC 175 models: each climbed to 200 m (656 ft), configured with 40 m (131 ft) jibs and assigned to a tower.
For the first 200 m (656 ft) of the construction project, the cranes were placing concrete to stabilize the building and lifting steel elements into place for the final part of the build. The two other tower cranes on the jobsite were used to construct the WTC's podium. For this, a 12 t (13.2 USt) H30/23 model was used at a height under hook of 40 m (131 ft), as well as a 12 t (13.2 USt) MD 265 with a jib of 60 m (197 ft) and height under hook of 45 m (148 ft).
NFT director, Nabil Al Zahlawi believes that ambitious construction projects need the best machines available.
“NFT prides itself on tailoring its service to suit all customer needs - no matter how demanding needs are,” he said. “We know our customers need quality machines, and this is why we only supply Potain tower cranes. We have 250 in our current fleet and provide a turnkey job to our customers with every Potain crane leased.”
The Bahrain World Trade Center will be one of the tallest buildings in the city and boasts a number of modern building features, including three wind turbines, positioned across the 30 m (98 ft) long structures linking the towers, in order to provide a renewable source of energy for the building. The shape of the towers channels the airflow through the turbines, improving energy generation output, which will feed power to the building grids.
A joint venture between South African contractor Murray & Roberts and Bahraini contractor Nass is carrying out work. As well as commercial property, the WTC will include a 256 room hotel and 30,000 m2 (322,917 ft2) of retail outlets and restaurants located on the ground floor. The total cost of construction is US$150 million. When completed, it will be visible throughout the small island nation. The project will complete in the coming weeks.
