Week of 7 October
1. UFO landing trace or Aramco Stadium? (Saudi Arabia)
You might be confused when looking at the first picture below. No, it's not a trace of a UFO landing; it’s the Aramco Stadium being built in Dammam (Saudi Arabia)! BESIX Middle East and partner Al Bawani are designing and constructing this 47,000-seat stadium for Saudi Aramco. Works are progressing well and the stadium is now beginning to rise from the ground. Good job, BESIX Middle East!
2. Two highly-anticipated hospital projects underway (Australia)
In Australia, our BESIX Watpac colleagues have recently begun construction on two eagerly awaited hospital projects. In Mount Warrigal, 100 km south of Sydney, they have started building the Shellharbour Hospital. The new hospital will provide the local community with top-tier healthcare services, including an expanded emergency department, specialised surgery services, expanded mental health services and a car parking.
Additionally, construction has commenced on the Mercy Health Australia Hospital Project in Werribee, near Melbourne. Here, BESIX Watpac is expanding the hospital's emergency department. To prepare the project's engineers for this significant task, BESIX Watpac colleague Josh Forte is organising several workshops to educate them on the intricacies and technical challenges of constructing these services. Great job, BESIX Watpac!
3. 380 foundation piles revealed for PALLAS reactor (the Netherlands)
In Petten (the Netherlands), BESIX is building the pit and foundations for the new PALLAS medical isotopes reactor. For months, the construction pit was filled with water to balance ground water pressure and to prevent the uplift of the bottom. A few weeks ago, the teams have started to pump the water out of the pit, which made the top part of the 380 foundation piles visible. Now, these piles will be inspected and filled with concrete. In total, the pit is 50 metres by 50 metres and 18.5 metres deep. Just to give you an idea of what that actually looks like: the red spot on the picture is a worker’s pants!
4. Progress at the Oosterweel link’s Right Bank sub-project (Belgium)
In Antwerp (Belgium), our colleagues of the ROCO joint venture are transforming the River Scheldt’s right bank as part of the Oosterweel Link project. Next to the Merksem viaduct, they are building a temporary highway called the Bypass to accommodate traffic while the viaduct is demolished and replaced by a sunken, maximally covered ring road. The installation of the nearly 1,000 girders is currently underway and the bridge across the Albert Canal is beginning to take form.
Additionally, sheet piling work for the canal tunnels’ construction pit in the Albert Canal is advancing. These tunnels consist of four tubes, stacked in pairs, that will connect the ring road with the southern port area (America dock). Along with the Scheldt Tunnel being built by BESIX, these canal tunnels are often referred to as the missing link that will complete the Antwerp Ring Road.
Keep up the good work, team ROCO!
And then this… BESIX kids visit Waste-to-Energy (UAE)
This weekend, 30 children of our BESIX Middle East colleagues got the opportunity to visit the Warsan Waste-to-Energy Plant in Dubai (UAE). BESIX completed the construction of this facility, one of the world’s largest, earlier this year and is now involved in its operations and maintenance for 35 years as part of the Shoualah joint-venture. The kids were very enthusiastic and deeply impressed by their parents’ work. Thank you to our colleagues of Shoualah who stayed longer and made this visit possible!
