A heavy lifting solution for the UK’s biggest construction project
A heavy lifting solution for the UK’s biggest construction project
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Hinkley Point C nuclear power station (HPC), being built by EDF, is one of Europe’s largest and most complex construction projects and the first new nuclear power station to be built in Britain in more than 30 years.
In 2017 Balfour Beatty were awarded the contract to deliver the tunnelling and marine works as one of three major packages of works the contractor is delivering on Hinkley Point C.
Around the same time, Balfour Beatty invited Marr to present the advantages of our heavy lift craneage solutions to members of their senior engineering and construction team and asked us to look at the lifting requirements they had planned for Hinkley Point C.
We work with our clients to find a craneage solution that works – no matter how big or complex the job is.
In what is one of the most complex marine engineering projects ever undertaken in the UK, Balfour Beatty’s scope of works was for the construction of the outtake and intake tunnels for the cooling water needed for the Nuclear Reactor Units 1 and 2. It involved installing the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and associated tunnel segments and conveyer systems used for the removal of spoil during tunnel excavation works.
Balfour Beatty sought an alternative to the traditional approach of using large crawler cranes and a yet-to-be designed gantry system. This would have required a lot of temporary works and double -handling of equipment for the tunnel construction and ring segments for the tunnel lining. Given the constrained site and topography, the original concept raised concerns around productivity.
Balfour Beatty’s open approach to early engagement with their supply chain, was ideally suited to Marr’s way of thinking about crane solutions on large infrastructure projects. We were able to look at the project with a fresh set of eyes and identified the opportunity to place one of our M2480D Heavy Lift Luffing (HLL) tower cranes in a location where it could offer a single solution for all the lifting requirements.
Balfour Beatty’s willingness to engage with us early in the planning stages for this project created the opportunity for us to design a craneage solution which:
