The GBP500,000 (USD824,000) crane has been installed at Battersea Wharf next to the River Thames in order to unload aggregates for a nearby ready-mixed concrete plant, which supplies materials for construction projects in London.

Cemex said the 87t crane is the first of this model in the UK, and is the first of its type to be used at an inland water operation. Four others are installed at ports around the UK.

The crane is unloading aggregates

More than 3,000t of aggregates are shipped in barges from Cemex’s Northfleet plant up the Thames each week, as part of its effort to reduce its impact on the environment. The crane is also powered by electricity, rather than diesel, meaning there are no direct emissions and it is more economical to run.

Unloading of the cargo has to happen within a two-hour window in line with the rising and falling tide of the Thames.

“This supply chain using barges, as opposed to trucks on busy London roads, is one of the examples of how we are reducing the impact of our materials within the construction world,” said Andy Spencer, sustainability director at Cemex.