ABOUT 44 Wolff cranes are being used in the construction works on the Development of King Abdul Aziz Endowment (Dokaae) project near the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, chronicling new successes in the partnership between Wolffkran and the Roots Group in the kingdom.

The holy city of Makkah, which is surrounded by rocky mountains, is currently growing at a rapid pace. Since the early 2000s, a compact building complex with over 1 million sq m of built-up area has been built to accommodate the many faithful, who travel to the mosque and holy sites in Makkah. Currently Makkah’s Al Haram mosque is surrounded by a forest of construction cranes.

The project in the holy city posed many unique challenges for Wolffkran employees.

Given that the city hosts several million Muslim pilgrims every year, using cranes in the holy site requires maximum precision in assembly and maximum output.

The workers had to pre-assemble the cranes outside the site, as only Muslims are allowed to enter the area. In order to achieve this, several training sessions were carried out in advance with technicians from Germany and partners of the Roots Group.

“An efficient building site solution requires professional planning, so that only the required number of construction cranes is used with the confined space," explains Jareer Jadallah, managing director of Wolffkran Arabia.

In the first construction phase, 20 luffing cranes were assembled. “The space-saving luffers are impressive due to their assembly-friendly construction and a very low individual piece weight,” he continues.  “In the second phase, there followed a pack of luffer and overhead gantry models in the middle to upper load torque area. The free-standing tower heights of the red giants also provide a particular advantage on the cramped building site.”

A total of 44 Wolff cranes are planned to be in use at the site until May next year.

Located to the south of the holy mosque, the gigantic Dokaae complex is emerging with the highest tower – the Makkah Royal Clock Tower at its centre, which will form the new city crown at over 600 m.

This tower will not only be the highest building in Saudi Arabia, but also the second highest skyscraper in the world, after the significantly higher Burj Khalifa (828 m) in Dubai.

In the last few years, Makkah has witnessed significant growth accompanied by urban redevelopment. The entire hill settlements have been cleared and the areas graded to make space for large buildings, primarily pilgrim hotels.

With a tradition spanning over 150 years, Wolffkran is one of the leading manufacturers and hire companies of premium-quality tower cranes in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North America, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. The rental fleet contains more than 600 Wolff cranes worldwide. With its headquarters in Zug (Switzerland) and manufacturing sites in Heilbronn and Luckau (Germany), as well as its international branch offices, the company employs  some 500 staff worldwide.