NEWS |


Ghella wins more in NZ NEW ZEALAND – Ghella has signed the contract for the 1.7km-long, 2.1m-diameter wastewater pipeline, the Herne Bay Collector, that will link to Auckland’s recently delivered Central Interceptor. The scope includes seven main shafts,


three intermediate shafts, overflow connections to existing engineered overflow points, and a control chamber at Pt Erin Park. The project will use the micro TBM


previously deployed on the Central Interceptor link sewers, and also some of the original tunnelling team. Detailed design has been underway on the project, which is complex in its urban setting, requiring the pipeline to be constructed beneath streets at depths of 9m-22m. The Herne Bay Collector is part of a


wider programme of work building on the Central Interceptor, a 16.2km-long wastewater tunnel running from Herne Bay to Māngere. The southern half of the tunnel has been live since early 2025.


Stockholm starts on Yellow Line SWEDEN – Stockholm Region has launched the main tunnelling tender for the metro network’s new Yellow Line, and first access tunnel work is already underway. The main contract covers boring


tunnels between Fridhemsplan and Älvsjö, and blasting areas for stations at Älvsjö, Östbergahöjden, Årstafältet and Årstaberg. Two TBMs will be deployed. It could be that one contractor does all the varied tunnelling works. The TBMs are scheduled to arrive in


Stockholm in Q3 2029 for assembly in Älvsjö. The automatic Yellow Line is to serve


central and southern Stockholm by improving existing links, and provide public transport for the new district planned between Årstafältet and Östbergahöjden, and Östberga. It is expected to be completed in 2035. For advance works, Veidekke has the


contract to construct a 600m-long access tunnel at Årstaberg metro station. The contract also includes rock excavation works for parts of the station area, with an option for additional excavation.


TBM in Zambia mine ZAMBIA – A TBM from China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation (CRCHI) has been launched for the Chambishi Copper Mine in Zambia. The 5.63m-diameter machine is to bore a tunnel up to 9.7km for the Southeast


8 | September 2026


Orebody Project. Geological conditions are expected to include hard rock, fault zones, and high ground temperatures. According to CRCHI, it is the first Chinese


mining TBM to be exported to Africa. The 800-tonne TBM includes a modular design, capability for small radius turning, an auxiliary gripper system, cooling and a cutter monitoring system to enhance operator comfort and operational safety. It will simultaneously excavate and line the tunnel, helping to address problems of overbreak and underbreak, and make consistent profile.


First drive on Saudi sewer SAUDI ARABIA – Tunnelling on the Northern Tunnel section of the East Jeddah Tunnel Project has been completed after an almost 6.9km-long drive by a Herrenknecht EPB TBM. Thrustboring Construction deployed two 4.12m-diameter TBMs from a single central shaft for the project, which will construct a sewer with a total length of 14km, between East Haramain Road and the airport pumping station 2. The second TBM is still driving and


segment production is 96% complete. Geology consists of gneiss, weathered


gneiss, other weathered igneous rock, and gravel, sand and silt.


CIDCO awards water tunnel INDIA – A JV of Laxmi Civil Engineering Services and Hindustan Construction Co (HCC) recently won the contract to build a 22.2km-long water tunnel in Raigad, Maharashtra, India. The project for City and Industrial


Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO) includes the design and construction of the bored tunnel for untreated water, and a water treatment plant. The scope of work also includes the


testing and commissioning of the water treatment plant, along with 15 years of operation and maintenance under a design, build and operate contract model. The project is a key part of CIDCO’s


strategy to strengthen long-term water supply infrastructure for Navi Mumbai and surrounding areas.


Gubrist beating schedule SWITZERLAND – Renovation of the Gubrist Tunnel on the Zurich northern bypass is progressing ahead of schedule. The GUBRI consortium, comprising


Implenia, Walo Bertschinger and Anliker, completed work on the first tube 44 days


ahead of schedule, and are now running ahead on the second tube. Lot 3 of the Federal Roads Office


(FRO) project covers the refurbishment of two tubes, the demolition of the existing carriageway slab and verges, the construction of new structures and new service ducts, and repairs to concrete tunnel walls. Lean working has been key and learning lessons from work the first tube. Up to 170 employees work in two shifts and share only a few access points. The tunnel renovation is scheduled to be completed in 2027.


Phased opening for Fehmarn GERMANY, DENMARK – The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel will have road services start ahead of rail on the combined transport link due to delays in planning on the German side of the undersea binational link with Denmark. Transport services will run in separate


corridors through the immersed tube – which is the longest in the world. “A phased opening makes it possible


to put the tunnel into use earlier for road traffic, while also reducing complexity in the final stage of the project,” said Sund & Bælt CEO Mikkel Hemmingsen. Last year, Germany announced delays


from planning would hold up its end of the rail infrastructure. The project is overall running later than originally planned, in part due to challenges with the specialised immersion vessel that would be used to lower concrete segments – the biggest ever for an immersed tube tunnel – to the seabed. Finally, the first of the tunnel’s 89 elements was immersed in May.


Snowy tailrace breakthrough AUSTRALIA – TBM breakthrough has been achieved on the tailrace tunnel of the Snowy 2.0 pumped storage hydro project. The 11m-diameter TBM, ‘Lady Eileen


Hudson’, completing excavation of a 6km-long tunnel and holed through into a cavern in the Snowy Mountains. The machine previously excavated a 2.85km- long access tunnel. Snowy Hydro CEO Dennis Barnes said


it was the first TBM breakthrough on the project and described the achievement as “pretty significant”. Also on the project, TBM ‘Florence’ is


nearing halfway mark on its 15km-long journey, and TBM ‘Monica’ was recently commissioned to bore through the Long Plain Fault Zone.


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