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Cooling construction site in Australian summer heat

Aggreko's customised cooling package kept a critical infrastructure project on schedule, providing cooling for construction workers and machinery.

The Challenge
Keeping machinery and workers cool underground
The Solution
A completely customised cooling package to keep the project on track
The Impact
A tailored cooling package helping the project deliver

Client: Salini Impregilo - NRW Joint Venture (SI-NRW JV)

Location: Perth, Australia

Sectors: Construction

The Challenge

Keeping machinery and construction workers cool during tunnel construction

The Forrestfield-Airport link is a new railway line built by METRONET, planned to deliver a new rail service to the eastern suburbs of Perth, including the airport. The rail link forms part of the METRONET vision to create liveable communities connected by world class public transport. There’s 8.5km of tracks, and 94 percent of it is underground – that’s 8km of twin-bored tunnels.

Constructing the railway underground is great news for the environment and for urban planning, yet during the construction phase the project needed to be carefully managed, as high temperatures can pose significant challenges to the project. Construction site cooling was paramount to ensure safety and productivity of workers and machinery.

Key Project Facts

Of chilled air 36 m3

Total power 1800kW

Of tunnels 8km

The Solution

A completely customised cooling package to keep tunnel construction on track

We installed three 300 kW air handling units per tunnel to keep the structure ventilation cool and dry, and a 2.5 MW cooling tower to maintain the right temperature on critical machinery.

We also installed an 800 kW chiller to create a chilled water loop through the air handlers, allowing them to continue working comfortably through peak summer heat and stay on track till the construction project completion date in 2020.

We chose Aggreko because it’s a brand we can trust, that we’ve used on many projects around the world and the experience and the reliability that the brand brings to the job. Aggreko conducted an accurate study of the requirements of the project and supplied us with the best possible solution.

Technical Engineer, Salini Impregilo

Arzan Pestonji

The Impact

A tailored cooling package helping the construction project deliver

From the beginning of this project, we worked with SI-NRW to deliver a complete turnkey solution – from sizing the equipment, to designing the cooling system and executing the installation plan. Nothing was left to chance.

This project will connect thousands of people to the city, and the airport, and open up Perth’s eastern suburbs. By creating the perfect environment the workers needed, SI-NRW JV is well on track to deliver the new transport infrastructure on time.