In early November,phase one of Adama/Nazret wind power station project, the first wind power project in Ethiopia, was officially launched. Mainly used in unloading, placing and installation of large-scale wind power equipment, Sany’s two 75t cranes and one 400t crawler crane played a major role in the construction. With the installation work of six units of wind power equipment completed before Nov 22nd, the construction progress was faster than customers’ expectation.
On Sep 22nd, the Joint Corporation of HYDROCHINA Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd. (“HydroChina Consulting” for short) and CGCOC Group signed a financing general framework contract with Ethiopia Electric Power Co. (EEPCo) regarding the two wind power stations, namely Mesobo-Harrena and Adama（Nazret）. Each wind power project plans to install 34 1.5MW wind turbine generators with an installed capacity of 51MW.
The project adopts Chinese standards in design, construction and acceptance inspection, and it also uses China’s wind turbines and employed Chinese project supervisors. It is the first wind power project of China to step onto the global stage in all aspects, namely, technology, standards, management and equipment. Additionally, it is the first wind power project put into operation in Ethiopia and even the whole East African Plateau. As the product requirements of wind turbine installation are extremely high, HydroChina Consulting chooses Sany cranes after comparing different equipment in various aspects.
Since September of this year, the equipment of the project arrived at the harbor of Djibouti one unit after another and then was transported to the construction site of Adama in Ethiopia. The first units arriving at the site were Sany’s two 75t cranes and one 400t crawler crane. Upon arrival of the machines, Sany service personnel immediately completed testing and installation work for it to maintain its high reliability under extreme environment like strong wind and plateau. Ye Zhou, the person in charge of the machine appraised the professional dedication of Sany’s service personnel.
Phase one of this project was launched this November and it is planned that ten units of wind turbines will be able to generate electricity from Dec 14th. Since the time limit for the project is quite tight, Sany cranes play a leading role in the construction, responsible for all kinds of hoisting work, for instance, unloading large-scale wind power equipment after the arrival and then placing and installing the equipment.
At present, the three cranes from Sany are the largest cranes in Ethiopia. Before they came to Ethiopia, most Ethiopians thought that only Europe and US were the great powers in engineering machinery industry and they were unfamiliar with industrial products made in China. Having seen the performance of Sany cranes in the project, they completely changed their opinions.
