Advantis Projects provides logistics expertise to CEB for improved reliability of national grid

Continuing its leadership in logistics in Sri Lanka, Advantis Projects, the project logistics arm of Hayleys Advantis Ltd., recently secured and completed the transportation of 12 transformers and their respective accessories as part of the Ceylon Electricity Board’s project – ‘Construction Of Grid Substations, Greater Colombo Transmission And Distribution Loss Reduction’. Amongst the cargo were two 250MVA transformers which weighed 131 tonnes each, making it the highest capacity cargo project handled by a local company in Sri Lanka. The remaining cargo was made up of two 50 tonne transformers and eight 70 tonne transformers.

The original contract for the project was won by a Korean company which then awarded the local logistics component to Advantis Projects based on their technical knowledge, capabilities and experience. Rising to the challenge Advantis Projects was able to provide an incident-free complete end-to-end solution for the transportation of these transformers from clearance at the Colombo Port to multiple locations within the greater Colombo area.

The project required the use of equipment such as specialised trailers, high capacity cranes, 400T synchronised jacking systems and skidding/sliding tracks, which were all available to Advantis Projects through their own range of equipment. It also required novel methods for the successful execution of the project. One such method involved the movement of the 250MVA (131Tonne) transformers, utilising synchronised skidding/sliding tracks.

Due to space limitations at the location where the transformers were unloaded, cranes could not be used for the precise final placement of the units. This required the Advantis engineers to devise an innovative method to push the transformers into a narrow space. In a first for Sri Lanka, the Advantis team laid down a special skidding track that allowed them to slowly but precisely push the transformers into place. Advantis Projects is currently the only local company to own such skidding tracks, which were designed and engineered with in-house expertise. This ingenuity in moving heavy cargo is a testament to Advantis Projects’ commitment to innovation by benchmarking with European standards to improve their capabilities.

The Ceylon Electricity Board’s project intends to improve the quality and reliability of electricity in the greater metropolitan area by minimising power loss. This will require the introduction of low-loss power transmission and distribution lines, and the construction of new substations. However, the success of this project will rely just as much on the ability and ingenuity of logistics providers to transport these sophisticated machines to their respective locations, as it will on the engineers installing them.

In the past, projects of this magnitude were handled by costly foreign entities due to a lack of local skill and expertise. However, today, with Advantis Projects leading the way by investing in the development of local talent and increasing their capabilities by acquiring specialised equipment, the local industry has matured and gained the necessary expertise to cater to the needs of local and foreign players in the transportation of their heavy cargo.

“Our wholly owned specialised equipment and innovative special projects team has always helped Advantis Projects to go above and beyond in meeting our client’s needs with tailor-made solutions,” said Advantis Projects General Manager Shadil Rizan. “This was exactly the case with this latest project that put our ingenuity and capabilities to the test. Our successful, incident-free completion of the project is a testament to the strides the local industry has taken in recent years and speaks volumes of our ability to cater to a myriad of client needs.”

A subsidiary of Hayleys Advantis Ltd., Advantis Projects is the market leader in providing project logistics solutions to local and international contractors who are involved in large-scale infrastructure development projects. The company brings over two decades of experience and a proven delivery record that has been driven with technology innovation and adherence to industry best practices. The company specialises in project and general cargo handling, inland transportation, freight, chartering, customs clearance and forwarding (C&F), storage facilities and numerous services related to logistics chains. Hayleys Advantis is the transportation and logistics arm of blue-chip multinational conglomerate Hayleys PLC.