Thai Obayashi selects three Liebherr luffing jib cranes for construction of key waterfront mega shopping mall on Bangkok’s IconSiam development; Thailand’s largest private sector project.
Three Liebherr luffing jib tower cranes are being used by Thai Obayashi for the construction of a nine-storey waterfront shopping mall complex on Thailand’s largest current private sector project, IconSiam, being constructed on the Chao Phraya River in the centre of Bangkok.
Thai Obayashi selected the Liebherr luffing jib units, two 125 HC-L and a 160 HC-L, because of limitations on the overflying of jibs over the busy waterway. All three units were supplied by Liebherr’s distributor in Thailand, Sino Thai Intertrade (STIT Co).
The mega mall element being constructed by Obayashi is designed to set a new standard in retail complexes for the city, attracting residents and tourists alike. Divided into two malls, one will feature 500,000 m² of retail and entertainment space, and the other will deliver 25,000 m² of luxury shopping.
Sittichai Thonglek, Obayashi’s Technical Manager in charge of the Liebherr cranes, says that the three units will be on site until September 2017, with IconSiam due to open in 2018.
“We are using the Liebherr 160 HC-L for the rebar yard and for materials handling,” he says. “This is a stationary freestanding unit and will have a maximum working height of 37.5 m.”
The 160 HC-L is fitted with a 55-m jib with a tip load of 8 t. The unit is handling loads of 2 t and more.
“The two 125 HC-L are being used to construct the nine-storey mall structure,” says Mr Thonglek. ““We have installed one of the units in the lift shaft, and it will climb with the structure to a final working height of 110 m.
“We find that with the 50-m boom, and working in conjunction with the 160 HC-L, we can undertake all the lifting and placing for the mall element of project.”
The 1.6 x 1.6 m diameter of the 200IC mast makes it particularly suitable for lift shaft installation. The 125 HC-L has a 12 t tip load, and is handling lifts of up to 1.9 t.
IconSiam is spread over 80,000 m² of land on the riverbank, and is so large that it will help regenerate the western side of the river.
IconSiam Residences Corporation Ltd, a joint venture between Magnolia Quality Development, Siam Piwat, and Charoen Pokphand Group, is developing the project.
Designed by Foster + Partners, IconSiam will along with the two shopping malls include a 3,000-seat auditorium that will be the city’s new destination for concerts, conventions and performances, and two towers at 40 and 70 storeys that will house luxury riverside residences.
IconSiam is the prime element of a long-planned regeneration of the river’s western bank, which has always lagged behind in development terms compared to Bangkok’s eastern bank.
In the past two years the BTS Skytrain mass transit system has crossed the river to the western bank, and a 3 km spur to be named the Gold Line will be constructed to connect IconSiam and other developments to the system.
