The span of the arms of the new “Christ the Protector” statue is 36 metres. That makes it eight metres wider than the “Christ the Redeemer” statue in Rio de Janeiro, which has now reached the grand old age of 90.

An elevator will transport visitors inside the figure to a viewing platform at chest height, from where they have a magnificent view of the valley. The total construction costs are to be covered by donations.

220 tonne mobile crane with 60 metre telescopic boom

Crane and haulage specialist Darcy Pacheco based in Nova Santa Rita, 20 km away from the capital of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil, was engaged to erect the monument. It used two Liebherr LTM 1220-5.2 mobile cranes in a tandem hoist to raise the enormous arms. The time-tested 220 tonne crane features a 60 metre telescopic boom, ensuring it has plenty of hoisting height for the new statue of Christ. The LTM 1220-5.2 and its predecessor, the LTM 1220-5.1, have enjoyed great popularity over the years, particularly in Brazil. Overall, Liebherr has delivered around 150 of these versatile cranes to the largest country in South America. Darcy Pacheco itself have many units of this model. The 5-axle mobile crane can achieve hoisting heights of up to 101 metres and radii up to 88 metres using lattice extensions.

Darcy Pacheco

The Darcy Pacheco Group was founded in 1977 and comprises three companies – Darcy Pacheco Soluções de Peso specialises in hoisting work of all kinds, whilst DPS Wind focuses the commissioning and maintenance of wind farms and Pacheco Logística provides heavy and special haulage services. The three brothers and company founders, Adauri, Ademilson and Adaureci Silva, manage the group which has a workforce of over 600. In addition to a number of other machines, the Darcy Pacheco Soluções de Peso fleet includes telescopic mobile cranes with lifting capacities of up to 500 tonnes and crawler cranes with lifting capacities of up to 750 tonnes. This year, an LTM 1750-9.1 with a lifting capacity of 800 tonnes will also be added to it.