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NFT supplies Potain cranes for Dubai tech hub

China State Construction Engineering Corporation is using nine Potain tower cranes to construct Silicon Park, a major new tech-focused development in Dubai.

The cranes were all supplied by NFT and include eight of Potain’s advanced MCT 205 topless models plus an MC 205 B top-slewing unit.

Spanning 150,000 sq. m, Silicon Park will be a mixed-use development and also a free-trade zone with a focus on tech businesses.

The new facility will have some of the strongest green credentials in the region, in line with Dubai Municipality’s Green Building Regulations and international LEED standards.

Buildings will include apartments, offices, leisure facilities, a museum and a mall. In total, the cranes will help construct some 23 low-rise buildings, and their duties include the handling of building materials and structural elements.

Abdul Zidan, construction manager on the Silicon Park project for China State Construction, said the tight timescale for the project had dictated the cranes’ selection.

“We are using the nine Potain cranes to cover 97,300 m2 of the project,” he said. “All are good-quality, reliable machines, and NFT has provided us with good service and maintenance support. Having NFT with us has helped keep this project moving swiftly despite its congested schedule, and delays have been kept to a minimum.”

Potain’s advanced topless designs make them ideal for busy job sites where multiple cranes need to work together. Because the cranes can overlap within shorter vertical spaces, working heights can be optimized.

The Potain MCT 205 topless cranes have a maximum capacity of 10 t and can lift 1.75 t at their maximum jib end of 65 m. The complete upper works can be assembled in four lifts, while the full 65 m jib can be placed in a single lift.

The MC 205 B is a regular-design, top-slewing crane and a proven performer on job sites across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America. It also has a 10 t maximum capacity, 60 m jib and 2.4 t jib end capacity.

Nabil Al Zahlawi, managing partner at NFT, said the MCT 205 units were a perfect choice for the Silicon Park project.

“We selected the MCT 205 for China State Construction because it is a crane that’s strong, compact and fast to erect,” he said. “We were also able to use our position as the world’s largest owner of Potain cranes to ensure that we met the tight delivery timescale. Our engineering team worked closely with the customer to get this project off the ground as quickly as possible, and we have been providing ongoing support to ensure work proceeds smoothly.”

This ongoing support includes managing all telescoping operations to allow the cranes to increase their working heights as needed. The working heights vary from 40 m to 55 m, and all nine cranes have been configured with jib lengths between 50 m and 60 m.

Because there are so many cranes on the project, NFT has also specified Potain’s Top Tracing anti-collision technology. And further control is ensured thanks to Potain’s variable frequency technology for all hoisting, slewing and trolleying mechanisms. This optimizes the speed of the cranes’ movements and also regulates their power consumption for better efficiency.

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