Gulf Construction Online - Liebherr cranes cover Oceanscape project

Germany and the Middle East

Liebherr cranes at work at the Oceanscape development.

Liebherr cranes cover Oceanscape project

01 March 2012

FIVE Liebherr cranes, including a Liebherr mobile unit and an EC-B Flat-Top tower crane, are performing lifting duties for Damac’s prestigious 150-m-high Oceanscape, a twin-tower development on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The Liebherr tower cranes are positioned to cover all areas of construction of the two futuristically designed 32-storey water-edge towers.

These include two eight-tonne capacity 112 EC-H, one 120 HC and one 110EC-B. All the tower cranes are fixed with foundation anchors. In addition, one of the 120 HCs and one of the 112 EC-Hs are internal climbing types for 150 m. The remaining two are external climbing for 150 m.

The developer has awarded the construction contract to Al Shafar General Contracting (ASGC), which is also working on another Damac property at Al Reem Island, the 150-m-high Marina Bay in Marina square development.

Located less than 1 km from downtown Abu Dhabi, Reem Island is approximately 600 m off the coast and covers around 6.5 million sq m. In total, at least 22,000 residential units are planned following completion of the first twin-tower on Marina Square. The island is one of the first free zones in Abu Dhabi allowing foreign nationals to purchase leasehold properties.

Construction of the Oceanscape project by ASGC is expected to take almost two years to complete. Commenting on winning the award, Bishoy Azmy of ASGC says: “ASGC is proud to have been selected by Damac to work on these two prestigious projects in Abu Dhabi. We know that Damac has a reputation for constructing iconic buildings and we look forward to working with them over the coming years.”

The mixed-use development will feature residential, commercial and retail units. It also includes exclusive sea-facing townhouses above the podium level with retail space over three levels. The residential towers provide one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with a swimming pool overlooking the sea.

Other Reem Island developments awarded to ASGC and featuring Liebherr cranes include the 34-storey Al Wifaq Tower One, and the Ambulatory Health Care project.

Liebherr cranes have recently been used on other projects in Abu Dhabi including the Al Muneera development at Al Raha Beach. Its LTM1500-8.1 mobile crane helped add the finishing touches to the island site of the development, with a night-time lift of landscape garden steel structures. Configured with a 26.5-m main boom, an 84-m luffing jib, 135-tonne counterweight and an 80-m radius, the crane lifted seven-tonne steel structural elements to the project’s three-storey high landscaped garden areas.

Liebherr cranes have also been used on a number of other prestigious projects in the region. In Qatar, Liebherr came to the rescue of Doha’s 59-storey Silhouette Tower after its original contractor was removed. The removal of the project’s original two tower cranes posed a major problem. However, Qatar crane rental company, United Equipment, proposed that a Liebherr self-climbing 160 HC L8/16 Litronic luffing crane be fitted into the tower’s existing core shaft with braces on the 47th and 49th floors.

Also in Qatar, Liebherr tower cranes again played a key role in lifting and placing reinforcement, formwork systems and steel beams at the Business Park project in Al Najima, Doha. The Business Park project features eight nine-storey towers, a Crowne Plaza hotel, conference hall, and six other towers from six to eight floors.

Six Liebherr tower cranes including two 280 EC-H 12s (one featuring a 50 m jib), two 130 EC-Bs and two 154 EC-Hs featuring 60 m and 55 m jibs, respectively were employed to maximise lifting capacity and utilisation.