14 Potain tower cranes are at work on the $5 billion Panama Canal expansion, the largest civil works project in Latin America.
Work on the original canal project began in 1881, and was finished in 1914. During construction, thousands of workers died in accidents and from disease, particularly malaria.
The current canal expansion project is set to allow much larger boats to traverse the canal, by building new set of locks, deepening navigation channels, and through the excavation of new access channels.
On the massive job site, 14 Potain cranes are being used – both on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal.
The ten tonne-capacity MC 205 Bs are helping to construct a third set of locks, by installing rebar, formwork and machinery to assist in concrete pouring. Some are moving across the project on jobsite railways, while others are mounted on fixed bases.
A number of Grove mobile cranes are also being used by the multinational consortium of contractors, GUPC (Grupo Unido Por el Canal), who are scheduled to complete the project in 2014.
More than 150 million m³ of soil and rock must be excavated from the site, and 5 million m³ of concrete will be poured for the new locks.
“Our work with GUPC is ongoing for the duration of the canal’s expansion, which is scheduled for completion in 2014,” said Raymond Mizrachi, general manager of Corpinsa, the crane supplier.
“The biggest challenge of this project is the limited time frame – everything has to be done quickly. The cranes can never stop working, so a responsive and effective support system must be in place. We have been successful in all phases of our involvement and GUPC reports that it is very pleased with the Potain and Grove cranes,” said Mizrachi.
“Along with support from Manitowoc Crane Care, we are providing crane maintenance and technical support, and we have set up a spare parts yard on the jobsite to ensure the cranes can continue to work 24/7.”
When finished, the canal will have the capacity to accommodate supertankers and the largest modern container ships.
