Liebherr tops out in Abu Dhabi

Five Liebherr tower cranes are being used for lifting duties at Abu Dhabi's second tallest development, the Corniche.

The mix of residential, retail and office facilities will include a 324 m high tower, with a 52 m concave steel structure at the top, reducing to 7.3 m on one side of the roof. The structure includes a range of 2 to 10 tonne elements that will be installed in-situ using an external climbing Liebherr 160HC-L 8/16 Litronic luffing jib crane.

To provide an acceptable over-standing height, the distance between the last tie-in and the crane's slewing platform needs to be 52 m. "Liebherr was the only crane manufacturer able to meet this requirement, which also included a 7 m radius as a result of the curved face of the steel structure," said the manufacturer.

Each of the three luffing jib cranes to be used, including two internal climbing units, have a 16 tonne lifting capacity and feature 50 m jibs. "Luffing jib cranes were chosen by the contractor for their speed of lifting on narrow sites allowing simultaneous lifting and lowering," added Liebherr.

Two Liebherr 280 EC-H tower cranes are being used for construction of the basements, as well as levels 1 and 2 of the podium. One of the 12 tonne models has a 65 m jib and a hook height of 45 m, including 17 m on the bottom basement level. The second crane has a 70 m jib and a 43 m hook height from the ground level.