Voitsberg/Austria, 20 December 2015 – Today's subsequent blasting of the Voitsberg power plant has gone according to plan. The intensive preparatory work of recent days has paid off and a new chapter is now beginning for the 250,000m² site: ARGE PORR-Scholz is launching the final phase so that the premises can be handed over to the municipality in June 2016.
"We are very relieved that everything went smoothly today. It was the right decision to trust in the blasting experts of the Austrian Armed Forces once again. Of course, the subsequent blasting was unpleasant – for the municipalities and local communities as well as for us. So it’s good that we have now closed this chapter. Tomorrow we will determine the details of the next steps involved in the ongoing dismantling. Our plan is to continue the works on 11 January", says Kurt Lackner, managing director of PORR Umwelttechnik GmbH, on the successful blasting. "Here I would like to thank the municipalities of Voitsberg, Bärnbach and Rosental on behalf of the PORR-Scholz consortium for their great cooperation and all residents for their patience and understanding”, said Lackner. As intended, today the structure of the boiler house, which was originally around 100m high, was almost completely demolished. Toppling the building has reduced the structural height to a maximum of 40m, meaning that the mechanical dismantling can now begin.
Preparatory work involved 50 soldiers from the Austrian Armed Forces, with 65 on the day of the blasting. 521 individual explosive charges were placed on the steel girders across four levels and today these were detonated at intervals of exactly 60 milliseconds. Around 500kg of explosives in total were finally needed to bring down the boiler house.
“Together with everyone involved, we are delighted about the successful blasting. Based on the maxim that 'safety is top priority', we applied state-of-the-art methods and the most advanced blasting and detonation technology – a conscious decision on the part of PORR, despite the fact that more cost-efficient alternatives would have been permitted", said Lieutenant Colonel Walter Voglauer on the blasting concept. “Our explosives experts have gained a huge amount of valuable experience in recent weeks with this blasting; this will contribute directly to the explosives curriculum in the Armed Forces”, said Voglauer.
From the very beginning, PORR's declared aim was to return the property so important to Voitsberg to the economic cycle as part of a resource-saving and environmentally sound project, while minimising the impact on its surroundings and sharply limiting dust and noise pollution in terms of time. With Scholz Austria GmbH, the company brought a capable partner on board for recycling scrap and founded the KW Voitsberg consortium.
The site required an elaborate demolition concept. The primary focus during dismantling lay on the homogenous separation of the building materials. "Through controlled demolition before and after blasting it was possible for us to recycle or reuse more than 90% of the material. About a year and a half of planning preceded the demolition project. At the same time, it was important for us to employ local partners: around 75% of the services contracted were awarded in Voitsberg and the surrounding area or in Styria", Kurt Lackner explains. In agreement with the authorities, the consortium deliberately opted for a blast. One of the greatest benefits of this method is the huge time saving: blasting reduced the period of the entire dismantling process by around six months.
Following today’s blasting operation, PORR will begin dismantling and breaking up the steel girders of the boiler house as well as the rest of the demolition work after the holidays. After that, the recultivation work on the premises will begin: commercial and industrial space is to be developed on the old site of the power plant; the end of the project is planned for June 2016.
For PORR the project comes full circle today: the Voitsberg power plant is currently the largest industrial dismantling project in Austria. When it was built, it was one of the largest construction projects – and in both cases PORR was responsible for implementing the project. Due to its years of experience with in-house projects in the contaminated site sector, PORR Umwelttechnik is the only company in Austria that is able to carry out such a project from development and the treatment phase all the way to the exploitation of the property. The blasting was the only task for which the company hired external experts in view of the project’s dimensions.
Contact:
Sandra C. Bauer Head of Corporate Communications | Corporate Spokesperson PORR AG T. +43 (0)50 626-3338 M. +43 (0)664 626-3338 sandra.bauer@porr.at
Captain Peter Bleyer Ministry of National Defence and Sport Military Command of Styria M. +43 (0)664 622-3243 presse.steiermark@bmlvs.gv.at
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