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 Country Tilbury Freeport, Tilbury, Essex, England
Client Port of Tilbury London Ltd
Scope of Service Design & construction of complete facility, including mechanical handling equipment
Period of Service 1999 - 2000
Financed by Client
History
Costain has been building a successful working relationship with the Client, Port of Tilbury London Ltd, for over 20 years. Projects executed have been many and varied, including a number of berths and quay walls, loading stages, warehouses and storage buildings, a chill store, a grain terminal, and extensive infrastructure works. In addition a number of buildings have been built on the site for private customers including Interplan UK Limited, Seament (UK) Limited and Sealink Harbours Limited.
Technical Description
In October 1999, Costain and Redler were appointed by Port of Tilbury London Ltd to design and construct a 20,000 tonne grain silo extension to the Grain Terminal within the busy Port of Tilbury in Essex, England.
This multi-million pound contract included all aspects of building and civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering to provide Silo Block 3 within the Grain Terminal which was originally constructed in the mid 60's and is the only such import / export facility in the UK.
The new storage complex is designed around ten, 11 metre diameter x 30 metre tall, flat bottomed corrugated steel silos. Each silo has a capacity of 2,000 tonnes based on a wheat density of 750 - 800 kg/m3.
The ten silo bases, constructed by Costain, sit on 586x270mm square driven concrete piles and required 163 tonnes of reinforcing steel and 2,000 m3 of concrete. Two tunnels were formed to run from end to end on each silo row.
Two parallel Redler chain conveyors, rated at 700 tonnes per hour, feed the new facility. Two further Redler chain conveyors run the length of the large over-silo gantry structure and discharge via dedicated motorised slides down into the respective silos.
An aeration system is included at the base of each silo to provide ventilation to the stored material. Each pair of silos has a common two-stage fan that, via the aeration channels, directs air into the silo, thus maintaining and regulating the temperature of the stored grain.
Extraction of the stored material is via two long Redler chain conveyors within separate parallel concrete tunnel enclosures constructed by Costain during the civil engineering phase of the project, under each row of silos. Further chain conveyors elevate the material up and out of the tunnel areas and into the Grain Terminal.
Redler also undertook the electrical control system software design, installation and commissioning by incorporating a MMI in the terminal control room, accepting a feeder cable from the main silo complex via the new GRP enclosure and MCC panels housed therein.
Costain also carried out additional works to provide good, safe access and weatherproofing of the interface with the existing facility.
Summary
 The combined expertise of Costain and Redler working in close liaison with the Client, Port of Tilbury London Ltd, ensured the project was delivered within the contract programme, with grain being discharged into the silos from 1st August 2000, despite inclement weather during the second half of the construction programme.
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