The airport in Santiago de Chile is expanding its position as one of the most important hubs in South America. The operators are extending the site to 265,000m² and have commissioned the construction of another terminal. Once finished, the airport will increase its total capacity to 30 million passengers per year, more than doubling its present number. There will be 67 passenger bridges in total, including the 18 already in use. In addition, the number of parking spaces are to double.
The developers, a Vinci-Astaldi consortium, are realising the project with the help of 23 Liebherr tower cranes. Liebherr Chile has already erected seven 250 EC-B 12 Litronic, four 150 EC-B 8 Litronic and one 280 EC-H 16 Litronic. Six cranes from the Chilean dealer Maquinarias Cruz del Sur are also already in use: one 280 EC-H 12 Litronic, two 200 EC-H 10 Litronic and three 90 EC-B cranes.
The 18 tower cranes have a jib length of 45 to 60m and hook heights of 17 to 45m; they have been working on the construction site, partly in double shifts, since the end of 2016.
More Liebherr tower cranes will follow for the construction of the multi-storey car parks – foreseeably three 110 EC-B 6 and two 154 EC-H cranes.
In airport construction, for example, the permitted crane heights are very limited. In order to work with several cranes in the tightest of spaces, the service technicians mounted a flat-top 250 EC-B 12 Litronic crane on rails for the construction of one of the terminals. This way, the crane is able to cover a larger part of the construction site and, when not in operation, can be moved to a position where it can slew freely. As an additional safety measure, all cranes are equipped with an anti-collision system from the French manufacturer AMCS technologies.
