In the recent years, the constructuin company has laid 7.5 km of power cables through the underground of Copenhagen.
Energinet is in the process of renewing and strengthening the electrical cable network throughout Copenhagen and the suburban. They will secure the future of the electricity supply in the area over the long term. There is a need to replace obsolete cables simultaneously to expand the capacity in an area with fast growing population.
In recent years, NCC has been digging a total of 7.5 km of ducts and laid new cables for Energinet with a method where the cables are floated through the ducts with water under high pressure.
The cables have been laid from Glentegården (switch gear substation) to the Bellahøj substation. In May NCC reached a milestone with this project, where the last 800 meters of cable were laid with the floating WATUCAB™ method.
The WATUCAB™ method is an effective technique to install power cables with which NCC has gained a lot of experience. It contributes to reduce the construction period and thus provides fewer inconveniences for the citizens on the cable laying distance.
As a contractor on such extensive project, you are facing many unforeseen challenges. It is absolutely crucial for both safety and quality, that we have a customer who contributes to the many solutions and changes during the process. «We think of it as "our project", and that is vital for a common success» says head of department Kirsten Kruuse from NCC in a press release.
Extra security challenge
On a project running over such a long period of time, there will naturally be some team replacement along the way, and this is an extra challenge for safety.
Security manager Jeanette Tulle Nyborg Larsen has actively tackled this along the way. For me, a good collaboration is the "be-all" and "end-all" of a good project; we should not treat with kid gloves and just adapt, but ask questions and ask for sparring, she says and continues:
By setting the bar high and at the same time being responsive to everyone in the project, we together can create a culture where everyone dares to stand out when it comes to safety and well-being. The long cable routes run through both nature park areas and densely populated and trafficked areas, so the project did present many challenges in the process.
Among the reasons for the challenges, more than four meters of depth had to be dug to keep the necessary distance to other cables and pipes in the ground in certain places.