Mammoet, a heavy-haul specialist, successfully completed the transportation of gas turbines weighing up to 517 tons from the Kazakh port of Bautino to the Sirdarya CCGT plant in Shirin, Uzbekistan. The three 2,200-kilometer journeys were a challenging feat, with steep gradients, tight curves, narrow roads, and bridges with limited load-bearing capacity. To overcome these obstacles, Mammoet Kazakhstan used Goldhofer’s THP/SL heavy-duty modules, which proved to be versatile, robust, and reliable. In total, over 68 axle lines were in use, including two Goldhofer »ADDRIVE« modules and »ADDRONIC« for synchronization.
The first two transports travelled in convoy
For the first section of the route, a THP/SL 19-axle side-by-side combination was chosen, and up to five prime movers were used to handle steep gradients. The second section was more challenging, with steep curves, narrow roads, and bridges with limited load-bearing capacity. The gas turbines were transloaded onto Mammoet’s high girder frame AL600 and mounted front and rear on a 20-axle THP/SL P(1+1/2) combination with »ADDRIVE«. The synchronization of the »ADDRIVE« modules was done using Goldhofer’s »ADDRONIC« to achieve maximum traction and pushing power on steep inclines. The heavy-duty self-propelled modules »ADDRIVE« supported speeds of up to 25 km/h, while the full power was available at a click of a single button to bring the convoy to top speeds of up to 18 km/h. The Mammoet specialists employed a strategy to observe the limits on the individual bridges, which involved positioning an 8-axle Goldhofer modular vehicle under the high girder bridge to take a share of the heavy load directly.
On the last section of the journey, the gas turbines were loaded onto a heavy-duty self-propelled combination to cover the final kilometers to the power plant. Mammoet’s experts were impressed with the high quality and versatility of Goldhofer’s vehicle solutions, which allowed them to plan and execute the whole operation with precision. Ali Yoldashov, Mammoet’s Regional Manager – Caspian, said that the project reinforced their reputation as a trusted heavy-transport logistics partner to the Central Asian market. The Sirdarya power plant is designed to improve power generation efficiency and capacity in Uzbekistan while reducing the environmental impact, with two 750 MW power generation units and an efficiency of more than 60 percent.
