Rental duo for Sao Paulo metro expansion

15 July 2009

The larger of the two, a 200 tonne capacity Grove GMK 5200 all terrain, was supplied by Sao Paulo cranes rental company Nebrasco.

Expansion of Sao Paulo, Brazil's metro is nearing completion at several stations. As part of the mechanic and electrical (M&E) fit-out at the Estacao Faria Lima station on Linea 4 - Amarela (Line 4 - Yellow) two Manitowoc cranes are lifting compact equipment, hand tools and fixtures and fittings into the station box.

The larger of the two, a 200 tonne capacity Grove GMK 5200 all terrain, was supplied by Sao Paulo cranes rental company Nebrasco. The smaller machine, a 30 tonne capacity National Crane 1400A boom truck, was supplied by Guindastec, also based in Sao Paulo.

Construction of the BRL 2.78 billion (US$ 1.26 billion) Line 4 started in March 2004. When complete later this year it will have 11 stations and carry 1 million people per day. Travelling roughly east/west, Line 4 will connect the outlying district of Vila Sônia with the city centre at Luz, crossing the business and commercial districts of Consolação, Avenida Paulista and Pinheiros. It will have a total length of 12.8 km and construction is being carried out in two stages.

Construction of six stations is planned during the first stage: Butantã, Pinheiros, Faria Lima, Paulista, República and Luz, in addition to the "parking yard" in Vila Sônia. The other stations - Vila Sônia, Morumbi, Fradique Coutinho, Oscar Freire and Higienópolis - will be constructed in the second stage.

When complete the line will connect with Metrô lines 1-Blue, 2-Green and 3-Red at the Luz, Paulista and República stations, respectively. There will also be connections to the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) network at Luz and Pinheiros.CPTM operates six lines - A, B, C, D, E, and F, which cover about 250 km and serve 92 stations.

Construction is one of the first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreements in Brazil. The total cost will be shared between the state, BRL 2.04 billion (US$ 922 million), and the private sector, BRL 753 million (US$ 340 million).

The works are being carried out by the Consorcio Via Amarela joint venture - Camargo Correa, Oderbrecht, Andrade Guitaeries and Construtora OAS - for Compania Metropolitano de São Paulo.