The lifting into place of the chimney components for the third incineration line at Twence on 28 February marked the completion of a major part of the new incineration plant. Their installation was quite spectacular, since the chimney components, made by Bos Nieuwerkerk, had to be lowered into the existing chimney structure from above. Moreover, in mounting the different sections – with an exterior diameter of 3 metres each – the workers had no more than a few dozen centimetres of space for manoeuvring.

The chimney building is 80 metres high, while the individual duct components are about 20 metres long and weigh 7.5 tonnes each. To obtain the necessary height for lifting them into place, Mammoet, a company specialised in heavy lifting and transport, had to use a 120-meter-high crane.

The crane’s extreme height made this operation very sensitive to wind conditions. While the project had initially been planned to take place on Tuesday, 26 February, the wind on that day made that impossible: Beaufort force 5, with gusts of up to 48 km per hour. It wasn’t until Thursday, 28 February, that the wind had died down enough for the chimney components to be installed safely.