Press releases | 2017-03-30

Gulf Haulage Heavy Lift Company erects the first wind turbine in Saudi Arabia using a Liebherr LR 1750 crawler crane

The LR 1750 proved its ability in this prestigious renewable energy project
GHHL took responsibility for the full transport and erection of the first wind turbine in Saudi Arabia
The Liebherr LR 1750 offers boom systems for erecting the latest generation of wind turbines

Heavy haulage and heavy lift contractor Gulf Haulage Heavy Lift Company (GHHL) has erected the first wind turbine in Saudi Arabia. A Liebherr LR 1750 crawler crane was used to erect the 84 metre tower, the 83 tonne nacelle and the 60 metre blades. The wind turbine in Turaif in the north-east of Saudi Arabia will generate power for a bulk plant facility operated by state oil company Saudi Aramco.

The project is an important milestone in Saudi Aramco's plan to achieve a target of 9.5 Gigawatts of national renewable energy which is part of Saudi Arabia's vision for the year 2030.

For GHHL, which has more than 30 years of experience in heavy haulage and heavy lift operation, transporting the wind turbine components from the industrial port of Jubail and erecting the wind turbine in Turaif was a special order because this project is designed to advance the spread of regenerative energy types in Saudi Arabia. Plans are already in place for a wind power project with a total capacity of 300 – 400 Megawatts.

Transporting the wind turbine weighing in at a total of 410 tonnes was a particular challenge. The three blades, the nacelle and the tower sections were transported in a convoy of tractor vehicles and special trailers over a distance of 1250 km in well under 6 days.

After the tower segments had been assembled, the 83 tonne nacelle was installed at a height of 84 metres. Including the installation of the blades, the erection of the entire wind turbine took a total of just 2 days.

High wind speeds in the region made the planning process more difficult since there were only short time frames available for the erection of the components. The professional team from GHHL completed the first project to erect a wind turbine in Saudi Arabia successfully and safely.

With its wide range of boom systems, the Liebherr LR 1750 crawler crane is suitable for a large spectrum of applications. It is also used around the world for erecting wind turbines. Liebherr has developed special boom systems for this purpose to meet the steadily growing demand in this sector. The Liebherr 750-tonne crawler crane is therefore ideal for erecting the latest generation of wind turbines.

Gulf Haulage Heavy Lift Co (GHHL) is one of the leading heavy haulage and heavy lift contractors in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Its fleet includes cranes with a lifting capacity of up to 2000 tonnes and around 300 axles on hydraulic modular heavy goods trailers including SMTPs (self-propelled modular trailers).