It has been a season of milestones for SDP, a general partnership between SNC-Lavalin, Dragados and Pennecon, the prime contractor for the West White Rose concrete gravity structure (CGS) project being constructed in Argentia NL.

In August SDP celebrated the first major concrete pour for the project, followed shortly by the completion of the base slab for the 122m diameter structure and in October surpassed one million person hours along with the start of the first vertical concrete slip form operation.

More than 12,000m3 of concrete and 7000 tons of rebar in the base slab sit as the foundation for the remainder of construction which will include mechanical outfitting (MO) and several more slip form operations to bring the structure to its final height of 146m, equivalent to a 35 story building.

The first slip form will require approximately 1000 tradespersons working around the clock in three shifts. That number will peak at approximately 1500 for 2018 during the second slip form operation, which will bring part of the structure to a height of 46m.

When complete, the CGS will consist of over 76,000m3 of concrete and nearly 40,000 tons of rebar and MO for a total weight of approximately 210,000 tons.