LIEBHERR, a leading German construction equipment manufacturer, has made a considerable impact on Qatar’s construction scene through its local representative United Equipment Group (UEG), and its fleet of rental tower cranes.

Among its major ongoing projects in Qatar is the construction of the Doha North sewage treatment pumping station, which is the deepest of its kind in the country, for which UEG has rented out three Liebherr tower cranes. The cranes are providing lifting duties for the project’s steel fabrication yard and two 38-m-deep shafts, positioning the steel reinforcement assemblies weighing up to eight tonnes each, and formwork systems.
Both shafts were excavated in the extremely hard limestone and coral ground conditions by a continuous hammering process utilising 30-tonne excavators and breakers.
The first of the two shafts has been ‘bottomed out’, allowing the contractor to begin civil operations lining the shaft, relying on the two tower cranes for lifting duties. A Liebherr 280 EC-H12 tower crane has been installed above each of the shafts for the start of civil construction. Both cranes, featuring a 39-m and 30-m hook height above ground and a 55-m and 40-m jib, will initially be used to lower and position steel reinforcement and formwork panels at the base of the 38-m deep shafts.
A third Liebherr tower crane, a 200 EC-H10 with a 20-m hook height and 40-m jib performs lifting duties at the steel fabrication yard producing the project’s reinforcement cages.
The EC-H cranes are considered economical to transport and quick and easy to assemble. High-performance drives ensure high load handling capacities.

The PS70
The pumping station (PS70) is being built by a joint venture of Vinci Construction Grands Projets (project leader), QDVC (a Qatari subsidiary 49 per cent owned by Vinci Construction Grands Projets and 51 per cent by Qatari Diar) and Entrepose Contracting (subsidiary of Vinci Construction). The JV is also in charge of laying a total of 45 km of 1,600 mm ductile iron pipeline to link the pumping station with a wastewater treatment plant.
The contract awarded by Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) is valued at QR1.78 billion ($488 million). It started last year and is expected to be completed in 33 months.
The PS70 and associated contract forms an integral part of the Doha North treatment and associated works scheme. When complete, the scheme is designed to serve the northern part of Doha as well as the suburbs of Umm Salal, Gharafa, Seisisma and Lusail with a capacity of 243,000 cu m of treated water per day. It will serve more than 900,000 people and provide treated effluent for irrigation.
The pumping station, located at Al Kheisa, will provide the main collection point for all sewage generated in the north of Doha. This is then pumped to the treatment plant also currently under construction some 25 km away at Abu Qarn. Completion of the pumping station and pipelines is regarded as extremely critical and closely linked with the construction of three other major contracts – the sewage treatment plant (STP), the interceptor sewer and the treated sewage effluent pump station.
Sewage input flow into the screen shaft at the pumping station will be via a 2.4-m diameter pipeline to the base of the 38-m-deep shaft and fed into the lifting pumping shaft. Here, sewage is pumped to the surface by a series of staggered pumps within the shaft and passed into the forwarding pumping station at ground level. The flow then continues through a 1,600-mm-diameter pipeline, forming part of the PS70 contract and onto the STP at Abu Qarn.
The final 15 km of pipeline to the STP, also forming the second part of the Vinci joint venture award, features three parallel 1,600-mm diameter pipeline – totalling 45 km in single trench.
The STP will undertake treatment of sewage and produce high-quality treated water using the latest technologies available for water treatment. Apart from irrigation, the treated water can also be used for various industrial applications.

UEG
UEG is regarded as an experienced dealer in the tower crane sector spanning almost 20 years in Qatar.
Commenting on the Qatar market, UEG managing director Samir Al Mughanni points out, while the country may not have been as affected by the economic downturn as some of its neighbouring Gulf states, it has nevertheless undergone some severe cutbacks.
Though he sees signs of a slow return, he predicts it could be 2011 before the market returns to normality.
Al Mughanni points out that over the past few years there has been a trend towards leasing of equipment, and hence decided that a change of direction was necessary to meet the needs of Qatar’s construction market.
In 2007, his company was given the exclusive dealership for Liebherr tower cranes in Qatar. Within two years, he made his mark with orders for some 40 Liebherr cranes, and at the same time established a rental fleet of almost 30 units – which is still growing.
“We recognised that contractors did not want to purchase new cranes in uncertain times thereby reducing the risk factor. We were, however, prepared to take this risk and enter the rental market,” he says.
With many projects still on hold, and to meet demand with ongoing projects nearing completion, contractors are continuing to reduce their risk and rent, he adds.
“In order to meet the requirements of the boom years of 2006 and 2007 in the local market, everyone started to turn to Chinese manufacturers with lower prices and faster deliveries. But following the downturn, everyone is beginning to look for quality, reliability and good back-up services.
“We are also finding that as contractors return to quality/premium models, they find the cranes are more sophisticated for the local operator. We are, therefore, able to provide a fully trained team to service and maintain the rental fleet.”
The UEG is committed to providing excellent service back-up with six teams, with each having a foreman and four riggers.
Another factor highlighted by Al Mughanni is the energy savings. “The popular Liebherr 280 EC Series of tower cranes has an amperage of just 50 amps compared with competitive models requiring a minimum of 150 amps. This means contractors require a much smaller generating set to power the crane, resulting in reduced fuel costs. While not a significant factor yet, it will become so in the near future as costs continue to increase, and particularly when everyone is becoming environment-conscious and looks for energy savings,” he says.
Al Mughanni believes that the downturn will actually have a silver lining. “Up to the cutbacks, we had been unable to develop a clear strategy for future growth. Already, it is much calmer and clearly beneficial. And as government projects in the ports, petrochemical and gas-related industries go ahead, it will generate confidence in the private sector, leading to a clear pick-up by 2011. But the days of the past booms, with mega demand for equipment are clearly gone,” he concludes.