Shopping centre will transform Waterford

Steelwork contractor Andrew Man- nion Structural Engineers (AMSE) erected 1,000t of steel during September on the £33.5M Abbeylands shopping complex near Waterford in the Republic of Ireland.

The complex, which occupies a seven acre site, represents the company’s largest job to date and will eventually require 7,000t of steel to be erected.

Explaining AMSE’s fast-track approach to the job, Operations Director Brian Looney, said: “We were appointed as steel contractors to the project in February and quickly produced a procurement model to allow all materials to be ordered by mid-March.

“Our technicians then began detail modelling to allow fabrication to start as soon as possible. Once the scheme received fast-track approval we began working in close coordination with the design team to optimise the detailing interface.”

Abbeylands will eventually have 7,000m2 of retail space with a further 3,000m2 occupied by Dunnes Stores as the anchor. Developer Deerland Construction said the complex will transform the region when it opens in late 2008.

AMSE began steelwork erec- tion in May and is set to complete its work in November.