World’s largest luffing tower crane returning to Hinkley Point

Marr Contracting’s M2480D, the largest luffing tower crane in the world, is returning to Hinkley Point to work within the unit 2 turbine hall

Marr Contracting has been awarded a contract to continue working on Hinkley Point C (HPC), where they will install their M2480D luffing tower crane, the largest capacity crane of its kind, within the unit 2 turbine hall.

Marr Contracting had previously been contracted to work at Hinkley Point, having previously worked on the Tunnelling and Marine Project.

HPC is a nuclear power plant under construction at Hinkley Point, UK, and will be the first nuclear power station constructed in the UK since 1995. They recently stated that costs for the plant could raise to £35bn.

HPC’s construction strategy requires heavy lifting

EDF Energy approached Marr Contracting in order to develop a lifting strategy to work within Hinkley Point’s construction strategy. After the process, joint-venture partner Bouygues Travaux Publics and Laing O’Rourke (BYLOR) selected Marr for the lifting contract.

Marr’s approach involves installing their impressive M2480D, the largest crane of its kind, within the centre area of the building, providing the capacity, reach, and coverage of heavy lifting needed while also reducing site congestion outside of the walls, improving productivity.

The ability to lift 122 tonnes while being in a central position means that this solution avoids multiple cranes or rigging and de-rigging procedures that other craneage solutions may have had.

The position will also allow the crane to act as a high-volume general construction crane and lift in 70-tonne pre-cast components as part of its cycle of operations. The crane also boasts an ability to work in wind speeds of up to 20 metres per second, making it a good choice for the coastal location of its work.

Hinkley Point and Marr Contracting are excited to work together again

HPC project manager, David Wylie, said: “Putting the M2480D inside the building means there’s far less disruption to other teams in the vicinity. We previously had to work around the movements of the crawler cranes and during a series of workshops, we identified this solution as one of the biggest things we could improve on, learning from our experiences on Unit 1.”

Steve Ryder, Marr Contracting’s general manager – international, said: “It’s great to be returning to Hinkley Point C with a craneage solution that has significantly reduced complexity and will allow the focus to shift off the crane to productivity on the project.”