Eqypt powers up with Genies

Orascom Construction (OC) is using Genie lifts and telehandlers in the construction of a pair of state-of-the-art power plants in Egypt.

OC’s equipment division Orascom Trading (OTC), Genie distributor in Egypt since 2016, supplied two Genie ZX-135/70 boom lifts and ten Z-80/60 booms, GS-4047 scissors lifts and GTH-4018 telehandlers. Orascom Trading has been the group’s internal equipment provider for 20 years.

Constructed in a consortium with Siemens, each of the two power plants has a contract value of $2.24 billion (€2 billion) and a power generation capacity of 4,800 MW. Both operate on natural gas with light fuel as a backup, designed to provide an affordable, reliable and sustainable energy mix.

Phase I of the project was officially inaugurated in the presence of Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, representing Siemens, in March. Construction of the second facility, located on the Mediterranean coast, north of Borolos Lake in Egypt’s Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, started in January.

Working to a tight 2018 delivery schedule, the large numbers of machines operating on the Borolos site means that the environment is extremely busy. As construction progresses, many of the access tasks involve operating units amidst an intricate forest of pipes and uprights.

Consequently, while focusing on productivity, safety and precision are key requirements. “We are impressed by the versatility and precision of the [43.15m working height] Genie ZX-135/70 booms which are proving irreplaceable for a wide range of the plant’s highest-reaching tasks. We are also using them to support jobsite supervisors monitoring the quality of work on going on steel and concrete structures, and to assist in the inspection of completed sections of the plant. Once the job is completed, we will be using them for maintenance duties on both sites,” said Yasser El Saied, equipment manager for Orascom Construction.