INTERNATIONAL
ANDSPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
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APRIL 2015
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OsmanKarakus, Polimeksdeputy
regionalmanager andprojectmanager said,
“The first challengewe facedwas that this
areawas anoldquarry. Thematerial had
been extractedand the siteback filledwith
rubbishand rubble.We excavatedabout
3million cubicmetres andback filled it
with engineeringmaterial.Weworked for
about 16monthswithoutmakingany real
progress.Wehad44months forPhaseOne
andweused16monthsdoing that, sowe
wereunderpressure.Wehad toworkday
andnight on that.Wehavehad two shifts
on thisproject since the start.”
Phase I of the scheme isnow complete.
This is contained in the southernportionof
the site and comprises threemajor indoor
venues, includinga6,000 seat velodrome,
a5,000 seat arena for combat sports and
a15,000 seater forbasketball, gymnastics,
badmintonand table tennis. Inaddition to
T
heOlympicComplex inAshgabat,
Turkmenistan,might be thebiggest
building constructionproject
underway anywhere in theworld today.
The three-phaseproject covers a
1.57 squarekilometre site in the southern
part of the capital city and comprises
sevenmajor indoor sportingvenueswith
capacities from5,000 to45,000 spectators.
Theproject includes outdoor venues,
hotels, restaurants, carparks, anOlympic
villagewith capacity for 12,000 competitors
and a5kmmonorail to connect them
all together. In total, there are52major
construction schemeswithin theproject.
Workon theUS$5billionproject started
in2010. It is beingundertakenbyTurkish
contractorPolimeks, anddesign services
arebeing contributedbyArup.
The complexwill alsobeused tohost
the2017Asian Indoor-MartialArtsGames.
thepublic areas, these facilities also include
trainingandwarm-upareas.Alsoon site are
hotels, outdoor sports facilities, carparks,
restaurants and cafes.
Design challenges
All thebuildings on theOlympicComplex
are clad inwhitemarblewithdark-tinted
windows–often indarkblue to contrast
with themarble.Gold isused tohighlight
architectural features and for lettering
onbuildings.
Thebuildings areof a steel frame
construction andneed tomeet a
rangeof requirements anddesign
specifications. “Weheld a lot ofmeetings
with international federations and local
representatives becauseOlympic facilities
need tomeet certain standards, but they
alsoneed tomeet theneeds of local
athletes,”Karakus said.
Karakus added, “Another challenge
is thatwe arebuilding somanydifferent
types of buildings - arenas, indoor venues,
hotels, theVIPhotel, themonorail, the
OlympicVillage, and soon.
“Wehit a lot of existing services on this
site, plus all theutilities on thisproject are
inter-linked - soyou can’t just pickone
structure andgo andbuild it.”
The sizeof thebuildings and the roof
spans are also challenging. For example,
theVelodromehas a130m span and a
350 tonne steel roof truss.
SITEREPORT
Olympic lifters
TheUS$ 5 billionOlympic
Complex in Turkmenistan’s
capital Ashgabat features
more than 30 tower
cranes. CHRISSLEIGHT
visited the site
A renderingof theoverall project. The
completedPhase I is to the topof the frame.
Phase III is the central stadiumandOlympic
Village to the right andPhase II is thearea
below themain stadium
Constructionof someof the 14 tower blocks
in theOlympicVillage, whichwill provide
accommodation for 12,000athletes
