Projects summaries
Itaipu Project
Nature of the Project
The Itaipu power plant is, at present, the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world as regards the generation of energy. With 20 generator units and 14,000 Megawatts of installed power, it supplies 16,4% of the energy consumed in Brazil and 71,3% of the Paraguayan demand.
In 2010, the Itaipu power plant generated 85.970.018 megawatts-hour (MWh), enough energy to supply the demand of Portugal for a year and eight months.
The historic record for electricity production was set in 2008, with a production of 94,684,781 megawatts-hour (MWh). The previous record had been set in 2000, when Itaipu generated 93,427,598 MWh.
History of the project
The construction of the power plant is the result of intense negotiations between Brazil and Paraguay, which started back in the 60s. On April 26, 1973, the countries signed the Itaipu Treaty, the legal instrument authorizing them to use the Paraná River for hydroelectric purposes. In May, 1974, the company Itaipu Binacional was created to build and manage the power plant. The first two machines arrive on the job site still in 1974.
The Itaipu main dam is a concrete dam, of the hollow gravity type. During the initial conception of the project options were studied: solid gravity, hollow gravity, rock fill and in an arc.
After technical and geological evaluation, it was chosen the concrete dam of hollow gravity type for the main dam. The other dam types built at Itaipu, auxiliary dams, such as rock fill and earth fill used rocks and substrate (earth) from local excavations.
In 1973 technicians sailed the river in search for the best spot where to build Itaipu. The project started in 1974 with the arrival of the first machines on the future construction site.
In the second semester of 1974, the pioneering camp was set up with the first building for offices, warehouse, cafeteria housing and gas station, in existence to this day. The dirt roads leading to the job site were improved.
Between 1975 and 1978 nine thousand houses were built on both riverbanks to accommodate the men working on the site. Even a hospital was built to care for the workers.
The first task was to alter the course of the Parana’ River by removing 55 million cubic meters of soil and rock in order to excavate a 2 km detour;
A new bustling stage of the Itaipu Binacional construction starts: the concreting of the dam. On one single day, November 14, 1978, the site received 7204 cubic meters of concrete;
In 1980, the transportation of materials to Itaipu Binacional mobilized 20,113 trucks and 6,648 railway cars;
Between 1978 and 1981, up to five thousand people were hired every month.
With the concreting nearly complete, the next stage is the assembly of generating units. The transportation of entire pieces from the manufacturers to the plant becomes a challenge. The first wheel of the turbine, weighting 300 tons, left Sao Paulo on December 4, 1981, and arrived on site only on March 3, 1982;
The construction work on the dam ended late in October 1982.
On November 5, 1982 Residents of Brazil and Paraguay activated the mechanism that automatically raises the 14 spillway gates, releasing the dammed Parana’ River water and so officially inaugurating the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant, after over 50 thousand hours of work.
Time period to complete the project
The project started in 1973 and completed in 1982. It took 9 years to complete a project of that magnitude.
Stakeholders of the Itaipu project
· Brazil Government
· Paraguay Government
· Local communities (both from Brazil and Paraguay)
· Construction Companies and their workers
Main Challenges of the Itaipu project
Transportation was a major challenge of the Itaipu project.
As the roads and some existing bridges at several route alternatives were unable to sustain the weight of trucks hauling the pieces, they had to take the longest route of 1,350 km. It took longer than expected and the record was 26 days on the road between the factory and the plant.
· The loss of historic and cultural heritage, besides alterations to economic activities and traditional use of the land
· The social impacts, such as the relocation of residents and expropriation of land.
The current State of the itaipu project
The hydroelectric power plant is now functional. With all 20 generating units operating, Parana’ Rivers’ favorable conditions, and steady rainfall throughout the basin, it has the potential to generate 100 billion kilowatts of power per hour.
Cape Town Stadiums
History of the project and stakeholders
Construction of the breathtaking Cape Town Stadium, located on the Green Point Common between the twin South African icons of Table Mountain and Robben Island, began in March 2007.
Construction of Cape Town Stadium for World Cup 2010 began in March 26, 2007.
Over 5 million bricks were used for building this giant project – which, no doubt, will become pride of each and every capetonian.
Over 5 million bricks were used for building this giant project – which, no doubt, will become pride of each and every capetonian.
In less than three years, joint contractors Murray & Roberts and WBHO completed the massive project at a cost of R4,4-billion – or approximately US$600-million. GMP Architects of Germany and two local firms, Louis Karol and Associates and Point Architects, joined forces to design the stadium.
The stadium is adjacent to the now partially demolished 18,000 seat Green Point Stadium. It replaces a portion of the Metropolitan Golf Club site which has now been realigned.
The previous stadium, which was demolished in 2007, was a multi-purpose stadium used mainly for football matches, and was the home ground of Santos Football Club and Ajax Cape Town at different points. It also hosted music concerts including Michael Jackson, U2, Metallica, Paul Simon, Robbie Williams, the Coca Cola Colab Massive Mix and the 2003 46664 Concert for the benefit of AIDS victims.
Nature of the project
· The roof weighs 4 700 tons.
· Some 9 000 glass panels were used to cover 37 000m2 of roof.
· Over 5-million (5 234 000, to be exact) bricks were used in the construction of the stadium.
· There are 500 toilets and 360 urinals.
· The stadium has 115 entry turnstiles.
· There are 16 lifts in the building.
More than 2 500 workers were employed on site during construction, and almost 1,200 artisans received training from the contractors.
The site on which the stadium is built is equivalent to six city blocks.
The stadium features offices, a medical centre, a press centre, four television studios, a conference hall and a police station with jail cells.
The three tiers that make up the Stadium are home to cafés, shops, 250 VIP lounges and 68 000 seats.
The stadium and its roof in particular, have been designed to limit noise and minimize the impact of harsh weather. A fabric canopy beneath the roof allows natural light to filter through.
The city faced steep challenges before construction even began, said Mr Cronje, explaining that Green Point Stadium was to be built in the middle of a commercial and residential area.
“We had a legal challenge in the High Court trying to stop us from building this, and we had to go through several public approval and appeal processes, but despite that we have caught up and are currently ahead of the game,” said the city’s 2010 spokesperson.
· Shape of the stadium
A major surveying challenge has been provided by the oval shape of the stadium. Basically each row of columns is in no relation to the adjacent column. The professional consultants are using an elliptical and radial grid system to reference the internal elements of the stadium.
There are further grid systems defined for the external works and for the roof structure. These systems need to be combined and converted into the survey system used by the field teams. Geomatics is tasked with overseeing this operation in collaboration with the architects who manage the drawing database for the stadium development, to ensure that the integration and conversion of the various systems is successfully executed.
· Complexity of the site:
The site itself is highly congested. With over 14 tower cranes, mobile cranes, telescopic handlers, articulated dump trucks, excavators of various sorts and sizes, ready-mix concrete trucks, mobile concrete pumping units, delivery vehicles, tractor trailer combinations, and forklifts amongst others, operating within a confined space, which also contains the stadium itself, secondary steel yards, rebar preparation areas, a berm and haul road and various office complexes. There are also over 1800 workers on the site. The survey teams do not have the luxury of ideal locations for their instruments and need to operate quickly and accurately within this extremely busy location. Pegs cannot be knocked into the ground and be expected to remain in position especially when such high tolerances are required. With vehicles and materials being moved around the pegs are often damaged. To compensate for this the surveyors have kept the required information onboard the total stations, then basically fixed the position of their instruments and set the required marks where the construction employees are working.
Time period to complete the project
Construction of the breathtaking Cape Town Stadium, located on the Green Point Common between the twin South African icons of Table Mountain and Robben Island, began in March 2007.
In less than three years, joint contractors Murray & Roberts and WBHO completed the massive project at a cost of R4,4-billion – or approximately US$600-million. GMP Architects of Germany and two local firms, Louis Karol and Associates and Point Architects, joined forces to design the stadium.
Current state of the project
The stadium is used for soccer event such as the South Africa premier soccer league and other social event.
The Blue Route Mall's project
History the project
The mall was built in the early 1970s in Tokia, Cape Town. For the past 40 years, the Blue Route Mall has operated from a small centre of only ten shops and to the current redeveloped shopping centre of Built in 48,000m². The project was decided upon the extensive research which ended up in the rejuvenation of the Blue Route Mall. The mall is currently not being able to satisfy all their needs and expectations in a convenient and all-encompassing manner, and it also does not serve the its stakeholders sufficiently. The suitable idea was developed since 2001 and several issues have been attempted.
The nature of the project
The project is constructed under the development team appointed by the Fundamental Property Trust. The team consists of 12 organizations and will be operating under the supervision of BFH de Jager a Project Manager. The new centre will comprise two retail floors of about 29,000sqm each, with a covered parking level below. The project will see an additional 8,000sqm of retail space being added, increasing the gross lettable area (GLA) from 48,000sqm to 56,000sqm.
Project is divided into four phases:
· Phase 1: starting on the April 2010 - it is the demolition of the portion of existing centre with 800 bays available.
· Phase 2: October 2010- was the construction of the new centre with 1300 bays available.
· Phase 3: May 2012 – it will be the demolishing of the remainder of the existing centre and with 1300 bays available.
· Phase 4: July 1012- construct about 1700 bays on grade parking bays.
The approximation cost of the project is in a range of +780 Million Rand and it is intent to end by March 2012.
· 33,000m3 will be utilized during the redevelopment project.
· About 2.6 million bricks will be used.
· 55,000m2 of plaster will be used
· 60,000m2 of screeds will be utilized
· 4,000 tons of steel will be utilized
· At least 1000 worker be employed during the construction on the site.
· About 50specialist sub-contractors will be employed for the project.
· Estimation of about 2 million man hours will be used.
Stakeholders of the project
The main stakeholders of this project is the shareholders, this are people who put in money in the redevelopment of the mall with the intention to gain interests in the long-run.
Other stakeholders include:
· The employees,
· The credit providers (banks),
· The customers,
· The local communities of False Bay area,
· The government,
· The environmental groups,
· The Trade Unions (Taxi and Buses Association),
· The construction companies and architects.
The Main Challenges
There is a lack of consultation by the mall’s management with the surrounding community and stakeholders.
The Taxi and Buses Association are not happy with the way the new taxi and busses ranks are being used during the construction.
The community is complaining of the noise and dust pollution and unclear signs in the mall as to where the shops have been reallocated.
The ongoing project caused traffic congestion on Tokai Road, Vans Road and Lente Street especially during peak hours.
Current State of the project
They are currently in the balancing of the structure of the first floor, the ring beams and plant room aimed to be completed by the end of July 2011.
The history of the project
The project was first proposed in 1919, the Three Gorges Dam Project has faced many challenges throughout the plan’s development, including political crisis and project criticism. The dam was first proposed by Sun Yat-Sen, the father of modern China, in order to protect river communities from floods and also contribute to his economic development plan for China.
In 1932 the Construction Committee of Sun Yat-Sen created the initial plan for a much smaller dam on the Yangzte River. China modeled their plan with US government assistance, and by 1944, the project was referred to as “Chinese TVA”. They believe that the dam would “bring great industrial developments…. It will bring widespread employment. It will bring high standards of living. It will change China from a weak to a strong nation’.
The project loss support during the China Civil War in 1947, but after the devastating Yangtze River floods in the 1950’s, the idea was reintroduced to the government. In 1958, Mao Zedong pushed for support; he wanted China to have the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Political unrest again delayed construction until 1979, when the State Council approved construction because growing economy demanded more electric power.
In early 1989, the State Council agreed in March to suspend construction plans because of international pressures. At the same time, Dai Qing, a Chinese journalist and eminent critic of the dam, presented his book “Yangtze! Yangtze!” to the State Council. He was imprisoned for 10 months after he called the Three Gorges Dam “the most environmentally and socially destructive project in the world”.
In 1989, after the Tiananmen Square protests, the government suppressed any opposition of the project, accusing critics of undermining the political regime, and the project was pushed forward. By 1992 the National People’s Party approved the Three Gorges Dam project, but only by 67%, the lowest vote for any bill in China’s history. Resettlement and construction then began in 1992, and by 1999, it was determined that the reservoir should be filled after 6 years rather than ten, due to environmental concerns. The project was completed in 2009.
Nature of the Project
China Yangtze Three Gorges Project (TGP), as one of the biggest hydropower-complex project in the world, ranks as the key project for improvement and development of Yangtze River. The TGP is a multi-objective development project with great benefits in flood control, power generation, and navigation and so on. The project consists of river dam, spillway structures, powerhouse, buildings for navigation, etc, and organized by the scheme officially briefed as “developed in one scale, completed in one time, water-storage by stages, and continuous migration”.
Time period it will take complete
The total period of TGP construction is 17 years, which can be divided into three phases. Phase I (1993~1997) was designed mainly to do advance work for project construction and excavation of diversion channel with the river close-off as the milestone. Phase II (1998-2003) was mainly designed for construction of spillway and left-bank power house and the ship lock, with the completion of initial water storage, commercial operation of first batch of generators and ship lock open to navigation as several significant milestones of this phase. Phase III (2004-2009) has the main task of construction of right-bank dam and powerhouse, which is symbolized as the commercial operation of all the generator units and completion of the project.
The stakeholders
CTGPC is a wholly state-owned enterprise with registered capital of RMB 111.598 billon.
Other stakeholders includes: about 250 000 workers involved in the project; the China Yangtze Power Co., in charge of the electricity generation and management; the local community of Yangzi; the maintenance equipment suppliers; environmental impacts assessment (World Commission on Dams); Financial Institutions such as the World Bank; etc.
Main challenges
The environmental impacts of this huge project have been an important focus of these debates since the project planning stage. After the operation of the Three Gorges Dam at full capacity at the end of 2008, new environmental and ecological issues are emerging.
Emphasis here is given to the environmental challenges including: (1) water quality control; (2) water and sediment regulation; (3) biodiversity conservation in the riparian and aquatic ecosystems; (4) environmentally friendly dam operation and regional sustainable development.
Other criticisms:
The three Gorges "where known to be the most environmentally and socially destructive project in the world. There were also calls for a halt to construction and supports the idea of a series of smaller, less disruptive construction projects on tributaries of the Yangzi.
Allegations of corruption among officials involved with the project have raised fears of shoddy construction. There have been little to no attempts made toward removing accumulations of toxic materials and other potential pollutants from industrial sites that will be inundated. Experts say such materials could leach into the reservoir, creating a health hazard. The relative lack of waste treatment plants in China also could mean run-off from communities around the dam would most likely go untreated directly into the reservoir and into the Yangzi.
The current state
The project has shifted from the transition of construction to operation, ushering in the delivery of comprehensive benefits in flood and drought control, power generation, navigation, and water supply.
The number of local people who had to be relocated came to 1.4 million. Now it looks like another 300,000 will have to be shifted – add Coventry to that. This, in China, means getting a few weeks’ notice to quit and putting up with wherever the authorities see fit to put you. According to some sources, up to 4 million more are to be relocated within next 20 years in order to protect the ecology of the area. It is expected by 2012 that 2 million people will be removed from the Three Gorges Dam area, on a claim that the area is too geologically unstable to sustain the population
Some fact about the Three Gorges project:
· The amount of concrete totals 26.43 million cubic meters, twice that of the Itaipu project in Brazil, currently the world's largest hydroelectric dam.
· A new idea has been proposed to build an enormous hydroelectric dam across the Red Sea. The project has been developed in response to the quickly diminishing supply of oil, which currently serves as the basis for all economic development in the Middle East. The new dam would be 18 miles long, 15 times as large as the Three Gorges Dam, and produce 50 gigawatts of electricity.
Reference
http://www.itaipu.gov.br/en/press-office/news/forecast-itaipu-expected-end-2011-over-90-million-mwh(Accessed 24 July 2011)
http://www.blueroute.co.za(Accessed 24 July 2011)
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