Atlas Copco Rental is supplying equipment to Southbay Civil Engineering Ltd., the main contractor for the building of a £25m quay extension at the River Tyne in the United Kingdom. Two powerful portable compressors are being used to assist the company with the piling works that form the base of the new quay.
Air to drill 240 steel piles into river bed
Two oil-injected XAHS compressors are delivered to Southbay Civil Engineering Ltd. for a 10-week period. “The compressors will supply the necessary air to drill steel piles into the river bed. In total 240 piles are needed to support the new quay, each up to 33m long and 21 tons,” said Paul Stephenson, Managing Director of Southbay Civil Engineering. “The same equipment will also be required for a further 6 weeks later this year.”
The River Tyne project covers 300 meters of quay work and includes a 125 meters long quay extension, an upgrade of 118 meters of existing quay and 90 meters of quay wall renewal. This development is required to support the growth in cargo volumes. This includes the import of wood pellets used by power stations to convert coal into renewable fuels.
Extending the length of the quay will increase the berthing capacity by almost 20%, enabling up to four large cargo ships to berth simultaneously. The £25m project marks the largest investment since wood pellet facilities were built back in 2010.