The Kuwait government’s Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah Causeway project is currently among the world’s largest infrastructure projects. The 36-km-long road connection includes a 27-km bridge over Kuwait Bay.
The construction work required lifting precast concrete components from a hydraulic dolly-type trailer with a turn table system and placing them at their pre-planned positions. A tandem lift was required because the steel-reinforced concrete elements weighed 105 tonnes each, were approximately 37m long, 1m wide, and 2.3m tall.
Kuwait-based Integrated Logistics Company (ILC) transported pre-assembled concrete supports to the construction site near Sabiya. Before the lifting could be done, the two Demag AC 300-6 cranes had to be brought to the construction site. The cranes were accompanied by four tractor-trailer rigs, which helped transport the required counterweight of approximately 50 tonnes. The crane operators needed two hours with the help of two riggers apiece to set up the cranes.
For the subsequent tandem lift, the cranes were outfitted with 24.4m long main booms, a counterweight of 26.7 tonnes, and an 80-tonne hook block with seven-part reeving. An outrigger support base of 8.68 x 8.48m provided the required stability. Rigged this way, the cranes were prepared to lift the two 105-tonne concrete beams from the lowbed trailer in two steps in a tandem lift, swivel them sideways in a radius of nine meters, and lower them at the specified place in the desert sand.
Salah Al Huwaidi, CEO, Integrated Logistics Company, said: “The assembly-friendly design was decisive for the use of our two Demag AC 300-6 cranes on this construction site since the quick setup was crucial to adhere to the tight time constraints. The quick working speed, manoeuvrability, and fast setup of the cranes enabled the ILC team to complete the job in just one day.”Â
