Standalone tower builds in Brazil

A lone flat top tower crane helped build a large shopping mall in Brazil.

Main contractor OAS Engenharia e Participacoes used a Liebherr 110 EC-B tower crane for the construction of the Boulevard Mall, one of the largest shopping complexes in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It will have more than 200 shops, restaurants and a six-screen multiplex cinema in its built area of 156 000 square metres.

The crane was supplied by rental company Construservice, a specialist in Liebherr tower cranes. Carlos Muzzi Neto, Construservice director, said that OAS chose the 110 EC-B because of its performance and because it is an easy crane to erect - the compact head incorporates the hoist gear, slewing gear, central switchgear and the complete slew ring support.

"We have eight Liebherr EC-B units in our fleet, and we find repeatedly that, in addition to the performance specifications, contractors appreciate the ease of handling and the speed with which the crane can be erected, dismantled, and moved," Neto commented.

"This is a standard specification 110 EC-B, and OAS calculated that they would require only the one tower crane unit to construct the entire mall, despite the area to be covered."

The 6 tonne capacity crane has a 45 m jib at the end of which capacity is 1.5 tonnes and it is freestanding at 42.3 m.

Toldo explained that the Liebherr 110 EC-B has been located in the median of the structure and that it is handling both prefabricated elements and conventional construction activities. "Locating the crane in the centre of the building has enabled us to easily reach all the areas necessary on this very large site," said Toldo. "The crane specifications covered all our lifting needs, so for us now coming to the end of this first phase of the project, I would say that the Liebherr has done everything we required, with ease."

Boulevard Mall is in the Saint Philomena area of Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil. The project is being developed by Aliansce Shopping Centres, one of Brazil's leading shopping mall developers and operators, founded in 2004 through a joint venture between the Brazilian company Nacional Iguatemi and the American General Growth Properties.

The mall is five storeys high, and a 17-storey tower will be added during the second construction phase. OAS project manager Fabio Luis Toldo said that about 450 workers are on site and that at its peak the project employed about 2,000 workers. Construction of the first phase of the project began early in 2009 and is due for completion the end of 2010.