- New ship lift nominated for engineering prize
The new ship lift in Niederfinow has been nominated for the German Engineering Prize 2024. A total of six projects are in the running, as announced by the Federal Chamber of Engineers in Berlin. The German Engineering Prize, worth 30,000 euros, is considered the most prestigious award for civil engineers in Germany. The winner will be announced on November 28.
Applying for this award is "like the Olympics" for engineering firms and clients, said the head of the Berlin Waterway Construction Office, Rolf Dietrich. The massive ship lift, planned by the engineering office Tractebel Hydroprojekt in Weimar, is 55 meters high, 46 meters wide, and 133 meters long. It's also a tourist attraction in the Barnim district. With the lift, ships on the Oder-Havel waterway overcome a height difference of 36 meters in a giant trough, like a large bathtub.
The facility is competing for the engineering prize with structures like the airship hangar in Mülheim an der Ruhr (NRW) and the bobsleigh track in Oberhof (Thuringia). The state prize is awarded every two years by the federal government and honors outstanding engineering structures in Germany.
The steel and concrete ship lift went into operation after a long construction period in October 2022, several years later than originally planned. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) described the structure in northeastern Brandenburg as a "masterpiece of engineering art" at the inauguration.
The new ship lift in Niederfinow, located in Germany, is one of the six projects competing for the German Engineering Prize 2024. Visitors can also Admire the lift as a tourist attraction in the Barnim district of Germany.
