Chemical industry relocation project from Czechia to Egypt
Location: Litvinov–Alexandria (approx. 4,650 km)
Execution time: 6 months
Number of containers: 80 containers, 4 of them oversized
Weight of dismantled devices: 1,300 t
The project involved dismantling and relocating a production line of urea from natural gas from the Czech Republic to Alexandria. The project lasted six months, with an average of 25 employees working on the site. The dismantled large elements of the structure were transported by barges to the nearby port from Litvinov to Dresden, and then to two ports, Rotterdam and Hamburg, from where they sailed by ship to Alexandria.
Safety considerations played an important role in this project. Two years earlier, a fire broke out in the factory and the companies suffered several hundred million euros in losses. Therefore, the workers had to comply with very strict health and safety rules and undergo specialist training. Moreover, employees also had to use electrostatic clothes (which are 4 times more expensive than standard working clothes) so that no electrostatic charge could jump over.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND HOW THEY WERE SOLVED
One of the biggest challenges in this project was the correct positioning of the cranes to lift the heaviest elements — especially the main reactor, which weighed 82t. Due to the limited space available in the vicinity of the plant, there was a risk that the positioning of the crane would affect the underground pipes, as there would be too much pressure. However, the right place was finally found and the dismantling was carried out without any major obstacles. Another issue was transport – the main reactor was about 30 m long and was placed horizontally on an oversized truck. The problem during transport were mainly bends – due to the fact that the reactor was very long, there was a risk of catching on to something and damaging the reactor.
I have successfully completed over 100 projects in the relocation industry. Over the last few years, we have seen a great influence of new technologies on the implementation of such projects. Moreover, in the past, disassembly of a simple press took even 3 days, but the next such project could be done in 2 days – due to the experience gained, the work could be done much more efficiently.
Also, it is always a big challenge to work with cranes, especially their proper setting, as well
as transportation of cargo.
– Karol Kunc, Project Manager, Pol-Inowex