Towers on India's second tallest

Three tower cranes are being used by contractor Man Infraconstruction to construct India's second tallest residential building, Orchid Heights, at Jacob Circle in Mumbai.

The twin towers of Orchid Heights will both reach more than 300 metres and have 80 floors when they are completed in 2013. Construction has started on the infrastructure, which is beginning to rise from the foundations. Man Infra has installed a Liebherr 200 EC-H 10 FR.tronic in the lift shaft of one of the towers, from where it will handle the lifting work for both structures.

Mangesh Chavare, project manager, said that with its 60 m jib the Liebherr will cover the footprint of the two towers. Two smaller tower cranes are also being used on the site to construct the complex's 13-storey podium and other elements. That necessitated a close flyover for the 200 EC-H 10 jib and one of the other cranes during the earliest stage of the building.

"Other tower blocks that are not connected to the Orchid Heights development are being built on the perimeter of our site," Chavare continued, "This restricted us in the placing of one of the smaller cranes and has meant a close overlap."

The 200 EC-H 10 was supplied new to Man Infra from Germany, for this project, via the Liebherr India office in Mumbai. Capacity is 10 tonnes and, at the end of the boom, it lifts 2.4 tonnes.

David Griffin, representative director of sales and service for Liebherr tower cranes in India, mentioned close co-operation and interaction involved in this project. "We meet the Man Infra people on a continuous basis to discuss all their project requirements and are working hard on a continued close partnership for the many projects Man Infra is executing here. We are more and more proud to see the many Liebherr tower cranes being installed on the skylines of Indian cities. The association with Man Infra in Mumbai is a great flagship for us."

Mumbai, already India's largest city, is in an unprecedented building boom. Height restrictions have been relaxed so many of the new structures are in the 'super tall' category. The tallest building in Mumbai, and in India, is Imperial Towers, at 249 m and 60 storeys. This will be superseded in 2012 with the completion of the 320-m Palais Royale project. Orchid Heights will be second only to this in height.