Ammann Asphalt Mixing Plant plays major role in Turkish Highway project
An Ammann asphalt mixing plant production and ability to utilise fibres is playing a crucial role in the construction of the Northern Marmara Motorway in Turkey.
A large portion of the motorway, which serves as a bypass of Istanbul, has been completed. Handling a good deal of the remaining work is Nalbantoğlu İnşaat, a family-owned business founded in 1995.
The company has completed a number of high-profile projects, including creating mix for 70 per cent of the roads in Kayseri, the city where it is headquartered.
The Northern Marmara Motorway is much of the company’s focus through the end of 2018. Nalbantoğlu İnşaat is producing a great deal of mix for the fourth section of the highway, which will be connected to the Osmangazi Bridge. The company’s portion of the work is a 36-km stretch that has been under construction for about three years.
When completed, travel to Istanbul’s third international airport will be much faster, and traffic relieved in some high-congestion areas.
“It is a profound investment from which the economy, sociocultural structure and tourism will benefit,” said Ali Nalbantoğlu, chairman of the board of the asphalt company. “The size and the importance of the project are huge. To be part of such an important project is very exciting both for me and the whole company. For more than 20 years, we have improved our roadbuilding techniques and engineering, and with this experience and know-how, we will complete the project in due time and with success.”
Nalbantoğlu İnşaat initially utilised a single Ammann ABA UniBatch plant on the project. “This is our fifth Ammann asphalt-mixing plant,” Nalbantoğlu said. “We have been very satisfied with the whole Ammann experience – service, spare parts and more. We believe in the Ammann motto ‘Productivity Partnership for a Lifetime.’”
The plant was chosen because of its low operational costs and high capacity. The optional additive system, which enabled use of FiberTEK, was another consideration.
“The as1 Control System is the best that an asphalt plant can have,” Nalbantoğlu said. “It is easy to operate and very safe.”
So successful was the first ABA UniBatch that Nalbantoğlu İnşaat recently purchased a second such plant for the project. In addition, the company acquired an ABA UniBatch 340 with RAH 50 recycling dryer for use near Kayseri. The company now owns five Ammann asphalt plants.
The paving company also purchased an Ammann MechTEK Mechanical Stabilization Plant to produce cold mix for the job.
“We will provide 2.5 million tonnes of cold mix,” Nalbantoğlu said. “The cold mix plant has many benefits: high capacity, precise dosing, an ability to handle a wide range of additives and operator-friendly software that enables recipe storing, statistical reporting and customisation.”
Using a plant dedicated to cold-mix production has helped keep the project on track.
“The plant has large output in a short time,” Nalbantoğlu said. “It uses less power and the fact that it’s a separate operation helps with jobsite logistics. The wearing parts have long life, and therefore reduced maintenance costs. Our management also can remotely connect to the machine to monitor daily operations.”
