Mammoet has revealed details of how it transformed a small fishing port into a heavy-lifting facility to aid the construction of Burullus Power Plant in Egypt.
As the road network between the power plant and Egypt’s Alexandria Port is unsuitable for the transportation of heavy goods, project stakeholders took the decision to adapt Burullus Fishing Port.
In conjunction with Germany’s DB Schenker and Egypt’s National Transport and Overseas Services Company (NOSCO), Netherlands-headquartered Mammoet upgraded 125m of quayside at Burullus Fishing Port, increasing its ground-bearing pressure from three to 18.1 tonnes per square metre.
Internal port roads were upgraded, the port gate was widened, 6,000m2 of lay-down area was prepared, and the port basin and navigation channel were dredged in order to accommodate coaster vessels.
A 544-tonne capacity Mammoet MTC 15 terminal crane was also installed at the harbour, thus negating the need to unload power plant components at Alexandria Port.
Last year, a consortium comprising Siemens, Orascom Construction, and Elsewedy Electric commenced work on Burullus Power Plant, one of three 4.8GW combined-cycle power plants (CCPPs) under development in Egypt.
The energy megaproject, which also includes the construction of 12 wind farms with approximately 600 turbines, is expected to boost Egypt’s power generation capacity by approximately 45% upon completion.
Phase 1 of the Siemens-led initiative was inaugurated in Q1 2017, connecting the initial 4.8GW of additional capacity to the grid just 18 months after the contract was signed.