Plastics Recycling Plant construction – occupancy permit any moment now!

This is the final stage of completion of the Plastics Recycling Plant construction site in Kraków. Commissioning and testing of all installations have started. The innovations introduced, including the high degree of prefabrication of the reinforced concrete structure, have made it possible to speed up the work considerably. Within 18 months of the contract being signed, more than 20,000 m2 of facilities were built.

The construction of the Plastics Recycling Plant is part of the Municipal Waste Recycling Centre under construction in Kraków. The investment is being implemented under the “design and build” system. The NDI Group has almost completed, among other things, the construction of the Plastics Recycling Plant production hall building, the municipal waste storage building and the staff facilities building. The investor of the Plastics Recycling Plant is Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Oczyszczania Sp. z o.o. in Kraków.

How did the work progress?

“In addition to the construction of the three main buildings, our task was to carry out the landscaping and outdoor facilities, including the internal road system. As a separate task, we also provided the Investor with an access road to the Plant from Igołomska Street. We have already completed the construction and assembly works. We are in the final stage of implementation, commissioning is underway and we are going through the phase of tests and trials. We are collecting the necessary acceptance documentation – our goal in the near future is to notify the relevant authorities of the completion of the works and obtain an occupancy permit. The Investor plans to finally put the technology into operation by the end of June, thus completing the project,” says Maciej Stochmal, NDI Group Project Director.

One of the key stages of implementation was to quickly complete the design work, agree and obtain a building permit, and then allow the Investor to start assembling the process lines in the production hall. Within 18 months of the contract being signed, more than 20,000 m2 of facilities had been built.

“We were up to the challenge of coordinating the timing of all the design and construction phases while maintaining the required high quality and the highest standards of work safety,” adds the Project Director.

From clearance to new foundations

“In the first phase, we had to prepare the site, including demolishing around 10,000 m3 of underground structures on the site, as there were originally many old foundations in the area. We then replaced and reinforced the soil for the new foundations, underground utilities and internal roads. The next stage was the start of construction work, i.e. the erection of individual structural elements,” says Rafał Mielnicki, NDI Group Site Manager.

A major challenge for the team was the short deadline for completion, as well as the many necessary modifications and changes to the design.

“In order to complete the work in accordance with the contract, we decided to use a large number of prefabricated elements. The installation of the columns, which reached a height of almost 21 metres, was therefore quite an undertaking. The steel structures were also of considerable size. We made changes to the construction of the external walls. We abandoned the traditional masonry walls and relied on the assembly of prefabricated elements. Actions such as these allowed us to speed up the work considerably and complete it on time. Tests and trials, including those on the fire protection system, are still ongoing. However, the facilities are technologically ready,” says Rafał Mielnicki, NDI Group Site Manager.

The execution staff on the construction site of the Plastics Recycling Plant consists of 14 people, excluding the NDI Group’s internal support services. At the busiest time, more than 120 workers and supervisors were working on the site.

The investment is being implemented under the “design and build” system. The gross value of the project exceeds PLN 99 million.