Biggest ever UK concrete pour completed

A whopping 9,000 cubic metres of concrete was poured and reinforced with 5,000 tonnes of steel at the new Hinkley Point C nuclear electricity generating plant. This breaks a previous UK record set during the construction of London’s Shard skyscraper.

The Hinkley Point C plant is the UK’s biggest engineering project. Expected to be completed within six years, it will be capable of generating enough energy for six million homes. The concrete forms a base for the first reactor. The pour was a joint UK-French partnership of Bouygues-Laing O’Rorurke and the project took six months.

To prepare for the record pour, a concrete mixing site was constructed 18 months ago that creates the exact mix of cement, water and aggregate to make sure that the concrete will not crack.

The Managing Director of Hinkley Point C, Stuart Crooks, said:

“I am proud of the talent and achievement of our diverse UK workforce, our unions, our international supply chain and the design team in France.”

Construction of the nuclear power station employs 4,000 people in the UK. Pressure vessels and steam generators for the plant are being constructed in France. The site uses the world’s largest crane – the Sarens SGC 250.

Commercial concrete flooring takes considerably less time, fewer workers, and nowhere near as much concrete as the new Hinckley Point base. Concrete can poured and levelled quickly and takes a few days to completely dry to form a durable, cost-effective and strong floor suitable for a variety of workplaces.