The new Owen Springs power station is a major infrastructure development for central Northern Territory. Not only because it seeks world’s best practice in fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions, it is also earmarked to become the region’s sole electricity provider.
The $126m power station, comprising of three 10.9MW diesel / gas generators, will gradually displace the Ron Goodin power station over the next decade as the primary power facility to the Alice Springs area, eventually leading to the latter’s decommissioning. Due to the importance of this project, it was critical that Power & Water Corporation constructed a facility that is capable of sustaining the electricity demand of Alice Springs and its surrounding area for the years to come.
MAN Diesel & Turbo Australia, the head contractor for the design and construction of the project, engaged the services of Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift (formerly Tutt Bryant Project Services) to assist in the transportation and installation of the power station generators and alternators.
Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift was selected on the basis of their experience in handling unusual lifting and transportation tasks safely and economically. The scope of work encompassed the unloading, reloading and transportation of the generators (each weighing 230t) and alternators (each weighing 60t) from the Port of Darwin to the Owen Springs site, followed by the placement of all machinery onto their individual foundations.
With access to the full resources that are based in Perth and Darwin, Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift was able to provide MAN Diesel & Turbo Australia with a comprehensive solution involving specialised transport assets and alternative lifting solution in the form of the modular hydraulic jacking system.
Obviously, it is not as simple as it sounds. The sheer mass of the loads, the 1,500km transportation distance and the difficult nature of installation meant that detailed pre-planning, load studies and fluent execution were vital to the success of the operation. For Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift, the enormity of the project was not only welcomed as a challenge, but also viewed as an opportunity to showcase their capability as a leading heavy lift and transportation provider in the country.