Sennebogen News & Press
01.06.2012

Operation on the aorta of Hong Kong

With a population of around 7 million, Hong Kong is one of the biggest metropolises in the world. The city's population per square kilometre totals around 16,000. The roads and transport routes therefore act like veins running through the metropolis, which carry the life blood of the city. The SENNEBOGEN 690 HD is helping to keep on top of the traffic flow into the future.

A gigantic transport project is underway in Hong Kong with the Hong Kong Central Wanchai Bypass. The six-lane tunnel project connects the east of the Island with the city centre over 4.5 kilometres. The major urban project should be completed by 2017. Intrafor Hong Kong Ltd. has been commissioned to dig a diaphragm wall spanning 21,000 cubic meters as part of this project. Intrafor has chosen SENNEBOGEN 690 HD Duty Cycle Crawler Crane to carry out the work. The 690 HD is particularly suited for use in low working heights under bridges and viaducts. The drivers praise the high motor performance and the 25 ton winch in particular. The quick and easy maintenance also saves time and money, which helps keep the construction work progressing on schedule.

The machine is currently digging in the ground under an existing bridge with a 1500 mm wide subterraneous curtain grabber. The work is carried out just seven meters away from the flow of traffic - extreme precision is essential. Sennebogen provided a custom-built model for this task at the request of the customer. With a total height of just 6 meters, the machine can be used in limited space thanks to the low-headroom boom. It is, however, still possible to switch to standard boom length at any time, which makes the SENNEBOGEN 690 flexible. Around 120 cubic meters are dug in the earth on diaphragm walls each day. But this isn't the only task carried out by the SENNEBOGEN 690 HD in Hong Kong. The multifunctional machine is used for various lifting and chiseling tasks too. The 690 HD is also used as a machine with round and square chisels up to 1500mm on a daily basis at one of the largest construction sites in the Asian metropolis.

Original statement:

"The 690HD is a strong productive machine that perfectly fit our needs for Special Foundations. Sennebogen has developed a unique design of the boom elements on this crane which allows us to work in low headroom configuration (below bridges, inside buildings) without having to change all boom sections. This new design provides additional flexibility to INTRAFOR. Furthermore, the crane components are well organized and easy to access which makes easier the routine maintenance of this machine. A good pick !" Sebastien Frebourg, Plant Manager, Intrafor.