French crane contractor Mediaco has been using its recently purchased Liebherr LG 1750 lattice boom crane for work on the ‘Metropole du Grand Paris’ infrastructure modernisation project. According to Liebherr, the infrastructure project includes plans for 200 km of underground railway with 68 new stations.

The 750-tonne LG 1750 lattice boom crane has been used to hoist a tunnel drilling machine, and regularly lifts loads of around 300 tonnes, said Liebherr. The crane is generally equipped in compact form, with a 35 metre main boom and a derrick boom, Liebherr added.

The ‘Metropole du Grand Paris’ infrastructure project is expected to be carried out over several decades and will generate a lot of work for French contractors, Liebherr said. This is backed by Patrick Meublat, Mediaco’s technical director of the crane business. “Like all crane contractors in the Paris area, we are expecting a healthy rate of orders over the next few years,” Meublat said. “The jobs for our Liebherr cranes around Paris over the next few years will be dominated by assembling and dismantling tunnel drilling machines and hoisting railway and road bridges.”