The Potain MR 225 was specified by Grinaker-LTA Building East at its Old Mutual project in Durban’s central business district in order to meet the requirements of the small site, which is 1,500 sq m in area and situated between three existing high rise buildings. The finished car park will be 10 storeys, 38m high and house shops and a new fast food court on the ground floor.
The crane has a 2mx2m footprint, a reach of 35m and a capacity of 6.5t. It is being used to move formwork around the site, lift post-tensioning cables (the decks are all post-tensioned slabs), pour 70,000 sq m of concrete and lift 800t of rebar.
“Luffing jib cranes have been designed for work on particularly high buildings or in extremely restricted spaces,” Warwick van Breda, operations director at SA French says. “When the jib is moved, the hoist gear is controlled in such a way as to ensure that the hook travels horizontally. This means that these cranes can avoid any obstruction and slew through 360° under load.”
It was erected over two days at the start of November, 2008 using a 220t mobile crane, and is due to leave site at the end of June.
