THE LINK: 930-TONNE FINAL LIFT
More than 55 jacks and strand jacks, and 12.2km of strands were required for the 930-tonne final lift to join the cantilevered structure with the first section
Ithra Dubai’s One Za’abeel marks a construction milestone on its 226m-long “centrepiece”
Property development giant Ithra Dubai, which is wholly-owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), has marked a major milestone on it’s One Za’abeel project – the twin-tower development near Dubai World Trade Centre on Sheikh Zayed Road – with the completion of the final lift of the 930-tonne second section of ‘The Link’, which has reached its final position – perpendicular to the twin towers – 100m above the ground.
The structure qualifies One Za’abeel and The Link for a Guinness World Records™ attempt as the “Longest Cantilevered Building” in the world.
Although The Link is a 226m-long structure made from a composite material of steel and concrete suspended perpendicular to the One Za’abeel twin towers, its 66m cantilever is anchored at only one point while the rest floats above The Happiness Bridge offering views of The Burj Khalifa, The Museum of the Future and the Downtown Dubai skyline.
The Link has been constructed of seven steel modules – named Assembly A-G – that were slid into place before they were lifted into their final position.
The lift of the 192m-long first section of ‘The Link’ to its final position took place in September. The lift — one of the heaviest in the region — was carried out over a period of 12 days, with a total weight of 8,720 tonnes.
More than 110 special jacks and heavy-duty strand jacks were used for the operation, collectively by a team of global experts in the fields of construction, engineering, and contracting.
The second and final lift joined the cantilevered structure with the first section of The Link and was executed over the course of four days. More than 55 jacks and strand jacks, and 12.2km of strands were required to lift this final portion weighing over 930 tonnes.
Commenting on the milestones of The Link, the chief executive officer of ALEC, Kez Taylor, tells Construction Week: “We were prepared for contingencies, and everything went according to plan and both of these lifts went ahead as scheduled.”
“For instance, when COVID-19 hit, we were very quick to react. We used a lot of our digital technologies and acted on very accurate data. We set up war rooms. We made sure that we were very quick to react to the constant changes.”
The Link, when completed, will house Michelin-starred restaurants, observation decks, an infinity pool on its roof, and an infinity view – with a glass floor and glass walls that appear to float in mid-air.
The Link – perpendicular to the twin tower buildings – is 80m in height and 80m in width.
Commenting on the construction of The Link, the chief development officer of Ithra Dubai, Raad Jarrah, told CW: “The One Za’abeel Towers were not built straight, vertically, like most buildings. Every level was inclined about 1.5mm as part of the precambered build.
“This was designed on purpose because when the two towers received the weight of The Link they moved inward towards The Link, and aligned. They would now be genuinely vertical as you would expect from any other building.”
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