Week of 6 February
1. Middle East teams meet to reinforce their common vision
Our Middle East colleagues recently sat together in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to share past achievements, existing challenges and how they’ll overcome them collectively along with plans for the next 18 months. These meetings were organised by Jean-Pol Bouharmont, Managing Director BESIX Middle East, and Peter Lembrechts, General Manager BESIX Middle East, to make sure all teams align around their shared ambitions. A great example of federating people for the common good!
2. BESIX Nederland manages a delicate hoisting job
Last week, our colleagues from BESIX Nederland installed two lime silos in the water softening installation they are building in Culemborg, between The Hague and Arnhem. This is the last major hoisting job of the project.
The tanks were lifted in through demountable roof hatches. Now that all major components and installations are in the building, the roof can be permanently closed and our Dutch colleagues can start laying a sedum roof. Congratulations for completing this major milestone, team!
3. Our projects in Abidjan attract high-raking visitors (Ivory Coast)
A few days ago, Johan Beerlandt, our Executive Vice-Chairman, visited the Abobo tunnel project in Abidjan, which is part of the development project of the Abobo Town Hall roundabout project, which will significantly improve the accessibility of the Abidjan metropolitan area. He was able to meet the local teams and to discover the significant progress of this major infrastructure project.
At about the same time, the Prime Minister of the Ivory Coast, Patrick Achi, honoured us with his visit to the Abidjan Exhibition Centre, together with several ministers of his government. They witnessed the commitment of our teams, whom they called the ‘builders of a symbol’. They also underlined the remarkable quality of the construction.
"One can feel a luminous pride in the eyes of the workers, technicians and engineers who are participating in the construction of this work, which will make the "Pearl of the Lagoon" and the whole of Ivory Coast shine in Africa and in the whole world,” he declared.
Right next to the country’s international airport, the exhibition centre will help boost business tourism thanks to its conference centre seating 5,200 people and to modular spaces which will accommodate up to 10,000 people.
4. I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike*
Vanhout is building a timber velodrome circuit in Heusden-Zolder, next to the Zolder car racing circuit, in the North East of Belgium.
Cycling is firmly rooted in the Belgian/Flemish DNA, yet Flanders currently has only two indoor cycling tracks, both in Ghent, only one of which still meets UCI standards for European Championships and World Cups. In the new velodrome however, it will be possible to organise such international championships!
* as Queen once sang...
And then this...
Check out this great footage of the first deck span arriving for the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge project in Brisbane (Australia). Congratulations to the team on reaching this milestone!
(Video: The Courier-mail)
In the meantime, the team also erected their big tower crane and the boom is now in place, then they’ll jump the crane up to 75 meter of height. It should be working by tomorrow!
Good job colleagues for the progress in this project! We're looking forward to seeing the iconic structure continue to take shape!
