Manchester Airport tower built in nine days

A 60m (197 ft) air traffic control tower has been built in nine days at Manchester Airport.

The shaft of the £16m tower, which will house air traffic controllers from 2013, was built using a method of continuous concrete pouring.

The process required teams of 20 construction workers to work around the clock for 222 hours, with an average height increase of 27cm (10in) an hour.

The crews poured 600 cubic m (21,188 cubic ft) of concrete over 59 tonnes (65 tons) of reinforced steel to create the tower.

Andrew Harrison, Chief Operating Officer for Manchester Airport, said the "amazing speed at which the tower has risen is testament to the outstanding work of the project team".

The building of the tower coincides with the introduction of a new air traffic control system at the airport, which has seen controllers moving from paper logs to a digital system.

Time lapse footage courtesy of Lobster Pictures