Non-destructive testing services for Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan

05/11/2013

In August 2013, Turkish contractor Tekfen Construction and Installation selected SGS to provide non-destructive testing and construction supervision for steel structures and installation at the Baku Olympic Stadium project in Boyuk Shor, Baku, Azerbaijan. The new football stadium, with a 68,000 capacity and featuring a retractable roof, will house the Azerbaijan national football team, which will move from Tofik Bakhramov Stadium upon its scheduled opening in February 2015. Funded by the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Tekfen Construction and Installation was awarded a design and build contract. Construction started in June 2011 after Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini attended the ground-breaking ceremony.

Expert SGS NDT technicians and construction supervisors have been brought on board to ensure the integrity of all steel structures and that the construction works are compliant with international quality standards.

Established as an engineering consulting company in 1956, Tekfen Construction and Installation has become a global leader in the challenging field of contracting services. The strong Tekfen commitment to environmental issues, uncompromising dedication to global quality standards and professional business conduct have provided the company with consistent growth and stability for more than five decades.

Today, Tekfen is highly respected as an international contractor with an impressive list of accomplishments in Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasia and Central Asia and Eastern and Central Europe. The wide range of Tekfen activities includes contracting for heavy civil works, refineries and petrochemical plants, satellite towns, major industrial processing plants, pipelines and marine structures, power plants and electrical and communication facilities.

Having selected SGS Azeri to assist with NDT and supervision services for the construction of the new State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic management offices at the SOCAR Tower project over the last year, Tekfen looked to SGS to once again provide similar services for the Baku Olympic Stadium construction project.

For the duration of the project, SGS NDT technicians, steel structure construction supervisors and paint inspectors will be on site at Tekfen facilities in Turkey, as well as at the stadium construction site in Azerbaijan. One steel structure supervisor has already started work in Turkey and an NDT technician, a steel structure supervisor and a paint inspector have arrived on site in Baku, with the number of SGS specialists needed to successfully complete the project to be increased accordingly. These SGS experts will be on hand to minimise risks associated with the quality of works, ensure strict compliance to all international regulations and increase the value of Tekfen assets.

At the Tekfen Turkish production facilities, SGS supervisors will be overseeing fabrication works and testing verification. In Baku, NDT experts will be inspecting welding seams, supervising and testing paint works and monitoring the installation. NDT testing methods to be implemented include magnetic particle inspection (MPI), ultrasonic testing (UT), dye penetrant (DP) for welding seams, wet film thickness (WFT), dry film thickness (DFT) measurement and adhesion and spark testing for paint works.

The safe and reliable operation of structural elements to be used in the construction of the new stadium will be ensured by a CSWIP 3.1-certified specialist monitoring the welding works and a BGAS-CSWIP Level 2 painting inspector overseeing the paint works, both of whom possess extensive experience in international projects. Verification of the integrity of elements will be carried out by certified NDT personnel using intrusive or non-intrusive methods to detect defects and irregularities in order to prevent costly damage and avoid non-compliance. Fast and effective testing of primary and secondary elements will save Tekfen time and money at every stage of the Baku Olympic Stadium project, from assembly to installation.

www.sgs.com/ndt

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