Week of 14 February
1. A first milestone, three weeks ahead of schedule (Australia)
The BESIX Watpac teams in Sydney's Barangaroo metro station have passed the first milestone of the project with the delivery of the down track area. It is now the turn of the contractor in charge of the installation of the rails to take over. And it turns out that this handover is taking place three weeks ahead of schedule. Congratulations to BESIX Watpac for this remarkable work. The teams have been active since 30 September, with an average of 200 people per day on this complex underground site.
2. Let's get it started (France)
On Wednesday 9 February, after two months of preparatory work, the site of the Tour Triangle in Paris saw the arrival of teams from Atlas Fondations, the French subsidiary of Franki Foundations, and its partner Spie. Construction work has now officially begun. Carried out by BESIX France, the Tour Triangle is the first skyscraper to be built in Paris in the 21st century. It will be the third highest building in the city, after the Eiffel Tower and the Montparnasse Tower. It's an understatement to say that we can't wait to see this glass pyramid rise into the Parisian sky!
3. The ‘incremental launch’ of the viaduct (The Netherlands)
Our teams continue to build the Terbregseplein viaduct on the A16 Rotterdam. One of the special features of the viaduct is its construction method, which is a first in the Netherlands: the "Incremental Launching Method". This method consists of pushing the bridge segments above the infrastructure, which means that the road and rail traffic passing underneath is not disturbed. The operation is underway: the first of the 34 segments of the viaduct has already been launched and has successfully completed its first metres. On this occasion, the site was visited by two members of the BESIX Group Executive Committee, Pierre Sirvonval, Deputy CEO, and Jan Van Steirteghem, General Manager BU Europe, accompanied by Nic De Roeck, General Manager of BESIX Nederland. Congratulations to all the teams involved: We look forward to following the evolution of the bridge's “incremental launch”!
4. Opening of the port of Duqm (Oman)
The official opening ceremony of the port of Duqm at the beginning of February was an important moment for the Sultanate of Oman. The port is at the heart of the country's strategy to diversify its income and decrease its dependence on oil revenues. From 2017 to 2019, Six Construct contributed to the facilities with the construction of two jetties and a 1km quay wall. The technique implemented by BESIX Engineering and Six Construct was particularly original as it was all built in the dry! The construction site was isolated from the sea by creating a protective dike and pumping out the water. The team was able to work on a platform 20 metres below sea level, which is now the seabed over which container ships sail to and from the port!
And then this... Driving on your old kitchen (The Netherlands)
The Discovery Museum in the south-east of the Netherlands is organising an exhibition focusing on circular innovations. It will be open to visitors from mid-April 2022. Until then, internet users will have to choose from 22 innovations that have been shortlisted by the museum. One of these is the work of our colleagues from BESIX Infra Nederland. They have demonstrated that it is possible to use natural stone kitchen worktops as a raw material for asphalt. You can admire this in a video (Dutch only) and even vote for BESIX Infra Nederland!
