Construction News

Thu March 28 2024

Related Information

Riyadh metro project deploys 28 Potain tower cranes

12 Sep 16 In total 28 Potain tower cranes have been deployed on the Middle East’s largest Metro project.

The cranes, which include six new MCT 205s, have been been put to work on the construction of the US$22.5bn (£4.4bn) new Riyadh Metro in Saudi Arabia.

The Potain cranes are helping to build four of the six train lines that will extend 176km across the capital city as part of the new system, which will have 96 stations.

The landmark subway project faces many challenges, as the structure is being built beneath the city’s streets, said  Michael Koudmani from Arabian Towers Company (ATE), a subsidiary of Manitowoc’s Potain dealer region, NFT. “Working on such a significant project in tight working quarters would be difficult for any crane to tackle,” Koudmani said. “We convinced the client to go for Potain because it is the world’s leading tower crane brand with a long track record of success. The cranes have an ability to operate in space-constricted sites and are capable of extremely fast lifting speeds to ensure that this huge project stays on schedule.”

The cranes supplied for the project include: six MCT 205s, 12 MC 310 K12s, a MD 365 B, the MCT 385 L20s, a MC175 B, two MC 205 Bs and three MC 235s.

Related Information

All are owned by NFT, which supplied them to the project’s main contractors: Fast Consortium for Lines 4, 5 and 6; and ArRiyadh New Mobility for Line 3. All cranes are on rental contracts, through ATE.

The crane most chosen for the project, with six units, is the Potain MCT 205.  It has a maximum capacity of 10t and can be mounted on either 1.6m or 2m mast systems. When configured on the 1.6m mast system, the MCT 205 can be equipped with up to 60m of jib and the capacity at the jib end is 2.2t. When mounted on the 2m mast system the crane can be equipped with up to 65m of jib, while the capacity at the jib end is 1.75t. With both mast systems, the crane can be configured for floor climbing, allowing it to boost its working height as building work progresses, and can reach 63.9m free standing height on version P21A, and 65.3 m free standing height on version VB20A.

The MCT 205s are currently working 20 hours a day on a two-shift basis and are working at a height of 44.4 m. All 28 cranes are expected to remain on the site for the next 18 months.

The project is expected to be complete by 2018.  

Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk

MPU
MPU

Click here to view latest construction news »