Regional cranes, heavy lifting and transport solutions provider Al Faris has announced the completion of a new project in Hatta, in which it loaded, transported and discharged a tugboat and pontoons from Sharjah’s Hamriyah port to a location on the Hatta dam as part of the Hatta Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant (PSHPP).
According to a statement from Al Faris, it provided the client a complete solution for loading the vessels from the customer’s shipping yard at Hamriyah port to a location near Hatta dam as a temporary changeover location, and then to the final location at the Hatta Jetty. These critical jobs also involved change of equipment at different stages based on requirement, Al Faris said.
The statement added that the task was a challenging one with some of the hazards being steep angles up to 23 degrees uphill and 24 degrees downhill; electric power lines with restricted heights; the need to manoeuvre extremely narrow roads; and bottle neck turns.
After careful consideration and study of the loads, Al Faris selected its Goldhofer hydraulic multi axle and self-propelled trailers for the move, with up to eight axle lines used for transportation. Lifting duties were handled by Al Faris’ Liebherr 100t and 250t mobile cranes when the load needed to be offloaded and placed at various locations. The loads were transported up and down the mountains and safely delivered to the final location.
“During transportation at the jetty, the clearance between the load and the rock was 100mm. The area near the barricade was backfilled and compacted. The loose gravel present at the slopes was also cleaned and compacted at the time of transportation to avoid sliding of the transport vehicle,” said the statement.
The PSHPP Project will be the first of its kind power project in the Gulf region. As part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, this 250MW project will be designed to use and store water from the existing Hatta dam, which was built in the 1990s, for generating electricity during peak demand periods.
According to Al Faris, the transportation which was critical in nature due to steep slopes and uneven roads, required specialised techniques, equipment and experienced staff. All road surveys, planning, technical support documentation, authority permissions, execution plans and schedules were prepared in-house prior to job execution. This helped organise all activities smoothly with minimum delays. Execution was safely carried out by Al Faris’ trained engineers and operators.
“We also provided a strong commitment and focus to adhere to best QHSE practices during transportation and on-site, which was discussed in detail with the client prior to the commencement of any operations,” said Al Faris.
