Seven thousand one hundred cubic meters of concrete, 180 kilometers of wiring, 750 tons of reinforcing steel and 22 kilometers of pipelines. Budimex has completed the work and handed over the Research and Development Centre to the investor PKN ORLEN. The contract value is approx. PLN 167 million net.
The contract with the investor was signed in April 2019. The investment was carried out in the EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) formula. In addition to the project, Budimex’s task was also to build and equip the Centre’s turnkey buildings along with the commissioning of the supplied equipment, m.in. measuring and laboratory equipment. The Płock R&D Centre will be tasked with developing the refining and petrochemical industry, implementing new technical solutions and working on new technologies and products. The centre will also deal with streamlining and optimising the processes already underway.
“In accordance with the investor’s expectations and in connection with the functions performed, the complex of buildings included in the R&D Centre had to be adapted to the research specifics of the refining and petrochemical industry and meet the highest construction requirements. Budimex, as a general contractor with extensive experience, met all the investor’s technological and timely expectations. The scale of the project is evidenced by the huge material outlays used to build the facility – 750 tonnes of steel were used to make it – this is 3 times more than the total weight of the Statue of Liberty – says Artur Popko, President of the Management Board of Budimex.
The investment consists of eight facilities. The complex of office and industrial buildings combining research and warehouse functions includes m.in. a technical building with a laboratory, research and testing facilities with a mapping and piloting hall with an area of nearly 2000 m², test and raw materials warehouse buildings. As part of the investment, an external warehouse with an installation for preparing fuel mixtures was also built, as well as an office building, which is the administrative base of the entire complex and all the necessary technical infrastructure. The construction works carried out by Budimex also included the construction of infrastructure accompanying the buildings: internal roads, car parks and manoeuvring areas. The R&D Centre is located on an area of 43,000 m2. The land reserve allows for the expansion of the facility in the future.
“The R&D Centre is supplied with environmentally friendly electricity. The facility has been equipped with modern, self-clearing photovoltaic panels and a carport (with a total capacity of 94 kWp) and a wind turbine producing green energy with a capacity of 2800 W. There is also an electric vehicle charging station in the complex,” says Artur Popko, President of the Management Board of Budimex. “As part of the work, an educational path was also created, where we can find m.in. interactive installations on the importance of fuels and chemistry in our lives and the directions of development of this important area of life, walls or information tables, and even the spatial periodic table of elements,” adds Artur Popko.
The design-advanced and technologically advanced surface allows for flexible installation of research installations with a height of up to 15 meters. The complex also includes a high and low temperature climatic chamber, an engine dynamometer stand, as well as technologically advanced facilities located in the so-called “S. media generation belt, including two cooling towers, a container boiler room and a compressor, a nitrogen tank, as well as water treatment plants.
The R&D Centre has implemented an Educational Path, which includes:
- Timeline – History of PKN ORLEN – infographic boards
- Interactive installation – Oil and petroleum products
- Displays of various types of oil with agitators
- Stand with cross-sectional models of internal combustion engines and an electric motor – infographic on the pole body
- Plastic is not so scary… Petrochemicals of the future – an interactive wall
- Plastic is not so scary… Petrochemistry of the future – supplementing knowledge with a multimedia stand with an application in the form of an encyclopedia
- Models of chemical compounds + Spatial periodic table with exhibits
- Looking to the future – an interactive conference table
- ECO zone – alternative raw materials for fuel production
- Kiwon
- Model of refinery installations (DRW)
- Photosphere
- Acoustic pipes
The PKN ORLEN Research and Development Centre is not the only project of this type in Budimex’s portfolio. The general contractor has extensive experience in the implementation of scientific and industrial investments. The company’s most important projects so far include m.in. the new Turów power plant unit, the Wielkopolska Center for Advanced Technologies in Poznań, the Lidl Logistics Center in Kałuszyn, the Danone production plant for the Żywiec Zdrój brand in Wieprz or the Production and Repair Hall Complex for Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa in Suszec.
