www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I July 2025 3
International News
INDIAN COOLING TOWERS DEMOLISHED BY SA FIRM
Supplied by Jet Demolition
Jet Demolition, South Africa’ s leading demolition specialist, has successfully completed the implosion of five massive hyperbolic natural draught cooling towers at the Asansol plant in West Bengal of the Steel Authority of India( SAIL), in partnership with India-based Edifice Engineering.
The towers, each standing 70 metres tall and spanning 48 metres in diameter at the base, were brought down in a meticulously sequenced implosion, detonated half a second apart, to clear the way for a new integrated steel plant. The fasttrack project forms part of a major redevelopment by SAIL and was awarded following an urgent need to prepare the site for new construction.
Joe Brinkmann, MD of Jet Demolition, says,“ This was our sixteenth major structure implosion working with Edifice and certainly one of the most complex due to proximity challenges of live services. We were working within just four metres of active electrical services and twelve metres from a live substation. Water lines were as close as three metres. The design had to be flawless, and it was.”
The implosion took just eight seconds from the first detonation to full collapse, utilising 6 180 blast holes targeting both the support columns and shell to deliberately break the structure’ s inherent circular strength. This approach ensured the towers tilted and collapsed precisely as planned.
“ These towers were much stronger than usual, likely due to India’ s higher seismic requirements, so we took additional precautions to ensure a controlled fall. We had demolished cooling towers before, so we knew what was needed. We have built up a lot of experience and techniques for explosive-induced collapse over the now thirty years of working in South Africa. We are one of the few specialised companies in the world doing this work now,” explains Brinkmann.
Edifice Engineering provided on-the-ground support, bringing in skilled labour and specialised machinery such as excavators with customised tools and mobile access platforms. Jet Demolition handled the technical design, sequencing, and execution of the implosion, while Edifice continues with site clean-up and recycling efforts.
The SAIL project was Jet Demolition ' s 16th in collaboration with Edifice Engineering.
“ This collaboration really works. We have established a solid working relationship with Edifice Engineering. They are the leading demolition company in India, and we are certainly pleased to work exclusively with them on projects in India. Together, it is a powerful partnership.”
According to Brinkmann, environmental sustainability was a key consideration. Nearly 100 % of the demolished materials will be recycled, with concrete from the towers and their foundations to be reused as fill for the new plant, while steel will be melted down and reprocessed.“ There is virtually no waste and minimal
All images by Jet Demolition
www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I July 2025 3