Case Study: Taming Dubai’s Desert

By Malcolm Ramsay

With soaring daytime temperatures and a lack of access to water, the arid, desert region of Saih Al-Dahal to the south of Dubai is largely uninhabited. But over the last decade this landscape has emerged as the perfect setting for the world’s largest single-site solar facility, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

Heavy transport specialist Al Faris Group negotiated this difficult terrain to deliver a shipment of 30 outsized tanks for the solar park, supporting the next phase of this ongoing development.

“This delivery was part of a major extension project at the park,” Kieve Pinto, executive director at Al Faris, told Breakbulk. “We were selected for our extensive experience handling this sort of complex, heavy-lift project and, despite challenges with the route, our dedicated team ensured this important cargo was all delivered safely and on time.”

Originally established by DEWA in 2012, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park has grown steadily with three phases already complete and a further two phases ongoing. The fourth phase of this project, Noor Energy 1, is the world’s largest single site concentrated solar power park and has been developed in collaboration between DEWA and Saudi investor and operator ACWA Power.

The cargo carried by Al Faris for this latest development included 30 overflow tanks, each weighing 235 tonnes. To make handling more complex each giant unit also measured 52 meters in length, necessitating detailed planning prior to delivery.

“A systematic approach to identify affected stakeholders was used,” said ACWA spokesperson Mohamed Yousef. “This approach not only considered the project, but also put into consideration associated facilities, transport routes and areas potentially affected by cumulative impacts.”


Discharge at Jebal Ali

The overflow tanks were supplied by Chinese power generation and electrical equipment manufacturer Shanghai Electric and arrived at Jebel Ali Port, in the south of Dubai, aboard a COSCO multipurpose vessel.

“To prevent face-to-face contact, the project team worked with co-operators through phone and video conferencing to carefully design a transportation route, identify obstacles along the route, and develop corresponding solutions,” a spokesperson for Shanghai Electric said.

“After in-depth research and repeated verification, the project team designed a detailed plan to hoist the super-large and heavy overflow tank.”

Upon docking at the port, the cargo was discharged from the vessel to trailers using on-deck cranes. For this project Al Faris selected Goldhofer THP/SL conventional hydraulic trailers arranged in two files with 30-axle configuration.

“When it comes to transporting ultra-heavy and voluminous cargoes on- and off-road, the THP/SL modules are often the most economical solution,” said Dean Exner, Goldhofer’s regional director of sales for the Middle East. “They are the key to extremely high payloads in combination with long continuous operations.”

With the tanks discharged in pairs to travel, the convoy of trailers were pulled using Mercedes Arocs trucks from Al Faris’ fleet.

“Considering the cargo dimension, weight and route condition from JAFZA to the Solar Park, this equipment was chosen for safest convoy,” Ganesh Prabhu of Al Faris explained.


Route Planning

While the surrounding Jebel Ali Free Zone is well equipped to deal with oversized cargoes, the onward route to the solar park proved more challenging as the roads beyond the city limits were small and frequently unsuitable for extra-long loads.

“A project of this nature requires exceptionally detailed planning to orchestrate the complex activities necessary for ensuring uninterrupted safe services; from route analysis to on-road safety permissions,” Al Faris’ Pinto said.Alongside technical analysis of turning space and height clearance along the route, the in-house team also had to prepare support documentation and HSE protocols to share with the client and partners involved in the project.

The first step in this process was to carry out a route survey physically, Prabhu explained, noting that “all the sharp turns, bridges and gantries present in the route were physically measured.” Following this, the technical team then turned to AutoCAD trailer software and Google Earth images to confirm the swept path analysis.

Confident that a successful route had been established, the in-house team then liaised with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, or RTA, to secure the necessary approvals and consent for the required road modifications to begin.

“After the survey, we submitted the report to the RTA for approval and obtained the required ‘No Objection Certificate’ for road modification,” Prabhu said. “Then, as per RTA standard guidelines, an approved third-party contractor was hired for the road modification work.”

This work involved a variety of “significant road modifications,” including construction of new bypass roads to avoid overhead height restrictions and temporary traffic management systems to handle diversions.

“Our team of engineers and technicians carried out the operation smoothly with the utmost safety and efficiency with all approvals and safety measures in place and with the help of police escort vehicles,” Pinto said.


Installation Phase

The final stage of the project involved Al Faris installing the components at the project site, using a Liebherr crawler crane from the firm’s existing fleet. With a lift capacity of 400 tonnes, the crane was used in parallel with smaller supporting mobile cranes.

“The foundation design was such that the crane must lift the cargo and then it had to travel approximately 80 meters to the foundation area for installation, for which the crawler crane was chosen,” said Pradeep Puthran, Al Faris project manager.

Again, pre-planning was a vital element in successful completion of this stage and Prabhu noted that the team completed the lifts according to a meticulous plan.

“Prior to the move, the crane placing area and foundation area were inspected,” Prabhu explained. “Then the crane load calculation was given to the client. According to the load exerted by the crane, ground compaction was done. Also, the access area for the trailer with the cargo was designated and prepared accordingly.”

With the tanks now successfully in place, the final stages of development are taking place, paving the way for the near 1 gigawatt of additional capacity from the Noor Energy 1 project when it is fully commissioned in 2022, and helping to deliver DEWA’s targeted capacity of 5 gigawatts at the park by 2030.

Based in the UK, Malcolm Ramsay has a background in business analysis and technology writing, with an emphasis on transportation and ports.

PHOTOS:

Photo 1: The move of the 235-tonne tanks proved more challenging on the roads beyond the city limits. CREDIT: AL FARIS GROUP

Photo 2:  Al Faris moved the load with Goldhofer THP/SL conventional hydraulic trailers arranged in two files with 30-axle configuration. CREDIT: AL FARIS GROUP

Photo 3: The Liebherr crawler crane had a lift capacity of 400 tonnes. CREDIT: AL FARIS GROUP