Restoring the Nile Fountain
Located in Cairo, Egypt, the Nile Fountain sits middle of the Nile River and is visible from both sides of the river. Powered by cables in a pipeline under the river, it was built in the 1950s by German engineers as part of Egyptian President Nasser’s ambitious plans to energize and modernize Egypt. By the 1980s, it had unfortunately fallen into disrepair, a victim of political and economic turmoil.
Forty years later, Egypt was once more committed to a major program of public works. The Arab Contractors Company was given the task of bringing the fountain back to life. That was no small undertaking. The fountain is 984.3 ft (300 m) from the onshore control station, from which all the power and control cables had to be routed.
The job included a lot of heavy-duty hardware. The fountain’s central element is 29.5 ft (9 m) in diameter, with jets that can propel the water 328.1 ft (100 m) upward. Surrounding it is a lower, wider ring of 32 adjustable jets, each with its own underwater spotlight. In short, the fountain is a complex and power-hungry system that requires significant infrastructural support. A new pipeline had to be installed from the densely developed Gezira Island, under the river and out to the midstream fountain site.
“We laid the pipeline by bringing a Vermeer D130x150 horizontal directional drill (HDD) into the grounds of the island’s Sofitel El Gezirah Hotel,” explained Mostafa Kamal from drilling contractor Prodrill. “That’s where the fountain’s control room is located. It was important to have a good-sized drill with sufficient traction to pull the pipes over the relevant distance. The D130x150 fit the bill because of its high torque, onboard pump and crane attachment.”
With its compact footprint, the Vermeer drill was ideal for use in tight spaces in the hotel. In transport-ready form, the machine measures only about 32.8 ft by 8.2 ft (10 m by 2.5 m) and stands roughly 10.8 ft (3.3 m) tall. But lean dimensions don’t come at the expense of drilling muscle. The D130x150 delivers 268 hp (197.1 kW) of power and has the torque, pullback force and other features needed for demanding drilling projects.
“Of course, because the contractors were working inside a hotel, it was essential to get the job done quickly and efficiently,” said Mohamed Saied, who was closely involved with the project as an engineer working for the local Vermeer dealership. “So, it was a big plus that the D130x150 has an operator-controlled rod loader. That eliminates the labor involved in manually loading and unloading drill rods. The three-speed gearbox also improves drilling efficiency by letting the operator adjust the rotational torque to match different ground conditions.”
Beni Suef pipeline
A couple-hour drive to the south of Cairo lies Beni Suef, a city of about 250,000 people and an important center for textiles manufacturing. Like Cairo, Beni Suef straddles the Nile, and anything that needs to be moved from east to west, or vice versa, has quite a bit of water to negotiate.
When the decision was made to install a product pipeline just to the north of the city, the civil engineering company operated by Ashraf Kanfoud secured the contract to route the 16 in (406 mm) of steel pipe beneath the river. The gauge of the pipe and the distance to be traversed – 5,905.5 ft (1,800 m) in total – meant that the job required a substantially bigger drill than the one used for the fountain. The Kanfoud Company opted for a Vermeer D1000x900 HDD. With dominating twin Caterpillar C-27 engines producing nearly 99,400 ft-lbs (134,768.3 Nm) of rotational torque and 985,100 lbs (4,381.9 kN) of thrust/pullback, the rig is suited to major projects like the Beni Suef pipeline.
“A project of this size is always a team effort,” said Kanfoud. “A large number of people contributed to its success. But none more so than the team at the Vermeer Egyptian dealership, led by Mohamed Saied. The support we received from Mohamed and his colleagues was vital. The Vermeer team gave us advice on using the drill’s capabilities to maximum advantage, plus comprehensive service-side support.”
Although the Kanfoud Company already owned a sizeable fleet of Vermeer drills, a D1000x900 was acquired for Beni Suef. “It’s a major investment, of course,” Saied acknowledged, “But there are huge commercial opportunities for an enterprise that can take on projects of this scale. The payback horizon is a lot shorter than you might think.”
For Kanfoud, one of the main attractions of the D1000x900 was its high-torque, low-speed Hagglunds hydraulic motors that power the rotary and carriage drives. The arrangement means that the company could simultaneously run the drill at full torque and rotary speed. “In simple terms, that means that it can get the job done quickly,” explains Saied. “When you hit a resistant patch of ground, you don’t need to back off the rotary speed in order to maintain the torque. You push on through.”
Another feature of the D1000x900 that made it a solid choice for the pipeline project is its floating vise. By allowing the full rod upset to be clamped during breakout of the lower and upper joints, fewer stoppages are needed, which helps maximize productivity.
Second to none
“I always like to tell our clients – mainly engineering contractors like Kanfoud – that the Vermeer range of drills is second to none in terms of its breadth,” reflected Saied. “I’m able to say that to them sincerely as a fellow engineer, not as a salesman. Whatever the project is — whether that’s a big pipeline installation like Beni Suef or something like the Nile River Fountain, where you need maximum punch from a compact unit — we can offer them a drill that’s right for the job. Plus, the backing of an expert team based right here in Egypt. Every time I see the Nile River Fountain dancing, I’m reminded of the vital role our machinery plays in every sphere of life.”
Contact your local Vermeer dealer for help determining what size HDD you should use on your next project.
This article contains third-party observations, advice or experiences that do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Vermeer Corporation, its affiliates or its dealers. Testimonials and/or endorsements by customers in specific circumstances may not be representative of normal circumstances experienced by all customers.
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