Egypt’s Petrojet is using two Genie GTH-4018 telehandlers supplied by local Genie distributor Modern Builders Merchant (MBM), in the building of six twin-tube tunnels (four for cars and two for trains) beneath the Suez Canal as part of the $7.3bn New Suez Canal Project.
The four road tunnels will be built 48m deep, 10.8m wide and 3.19km long, and provide access for an estimated 45,000 cars and trucks per day, while the rail tunnels will be built at the same depth over a distance of 6.7km and feature five ventilation shafts.
Once they are completed, the tunnels will link the eastern and western banks of the Suez Canal from Egypt’s homeland cities of Port Said and Ismailia, to the Sinai Peninsula.
The two Genie GTH-4018 telehandlers, with their maximum lift height of 17.61m, a maximum forward reach of 13.36m and a maximum lift capacity of 4,000kg, were delivered in January and are assisting the project by providing material handling support.
Additional features that contributed to the selection of the Genie units were the GTH-4018’s 3.8m outside turning radius – the narrowest machine width in its category – which make the model well-suited to work on busy and confined jobsites where space it tight.
The machines are powered by a Tier 3 (Stage IIIA) compliant turbo diesel Perkins engine that delivers 75kW (100 hp) of power and a maximum travel speed of 35 kmph.
Abdul Salam Hammad, MBM director, noted: “Despite the violent desert storms that are common in the area in the early months of the year, followed by rapidly rising high temperatures, both Genie GTH-4018 units having performed reliably without interruption for the past four months.”
MBM also provided familiarisation training for the machines on site and Ismail Hammad, a technical services engineer for Genie, commented: “As far as the Genie GTH-4018 models are concerned, the operators said they found them easy to operate and manoeuvre. They have also found that they are smooth and comfortable to work with on this rough, hot, arid site.”
The construction of the road and rail tunnels under the canal for the New Suez Canal Project, also known as the Suez Canal Corridor Area Project, is being carried out under the supervision of the Egyptian Armed Forces Engineering Authority (AFEA).
