An extremely remote location for people, plant and equipment while under the restrictions of COVID.
The project
Diego Garcia is a 30km2 British-owned coral atoll that’s been home to a US Navy military base since the early-1970s. Keller were contracted to complete design, installation and testing of foundation works for two telecommunication towers using franki piles.
The challenge
The logistics was the biggest challenge with only one ship a month arriving to the island. The team needed to be self-sufficient for several weeks, requiring meticulous planning. Because of the impact on travel caused by the pandemic, the crew were flown out in a private plane and required to isolate for 14 days.
The solution
The five-strong team selection had to be the best combination to complete all duties and scenarios required on site. Months of planning went into preparing an all-inclusive list of plant, equipment and materials for shipping and to align the crews to be released from quarantine in line with the shipment arrival. On site our team worked over six weeks to successfully complete the foundations with no significant problems with the operations and equipment. The project is a testament to the lengths we will go to for our clients.