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Dubai plans more major tunnels investment UAE – Dubai Municipality has invited expressions of interest (EoI) to provide project management consultancy for deep tunnels and sewage treatment plants across the Emirate of Dubai, our sister publication Meed reports. Known as the Deep Tunnels Portfolio, the


scheme will be developed as a public- private partnership (PPP) and will involve developing assets across Dubai and Hatta. It includes the construction of two sets


of deep tunnels terminating at two pump stations located at sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Warsan and Jebel Ali. In Hatta, a conventional sewerage and


drainage collection system and STPs will be built. The scheme also includes recycled water


distribution systems connected to the STPs. Dubai’s Executive Council approved the


project in mid-2023 and said it would require an investment of about AED80bn (US$21.8bn). It added that the project has been designed to serve the needs of the Dubai population for the next 100 years in alignment with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and the Dubai Urban Plan 2040.


Ferrovial-led consortium secures Barcelona rail extension SPAIN – Ferrovial, in consortium with Sacyr, Copisa and Copcisa, has won the contract involving major tunnelling on the extension to a commuter rail line in Barcelona. The contract to extend the Llobregat-


Anoia Line of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) commuter rail system includes building a 4km-long tunnel and three new stations, as well as upgrading two existing stations. The project, awarded by the Catalonia


Regional Government’s Territory Department, is worth €300m (US$336m). Work is to begin around autumn and is


planned to be completed within five years. More than 13,500 homes, premises and parking garages will be inspected before tunnel boring commences. The Llobregat-Anoia Line extension


project will connect the FGC Vallès and Baix Llobregat-Anoia lines, improving service and cutting transit time by avoiding the need to change trains. The new stations – Hospital Clínic, Francesc Macià and Gràcia – will provide connections with Barcelona metro’s Line 5, the light rail system and other FGC lines.


The lines will be linked via the new 4km


twin-track bored tunnel. The project also includes building two emergency exits, one at the intersection of Consell de Cent and Comte Urgell streets and the second at the intersection of Muntaner and Mariá Cubí streets. The two stations to be upgraded include


Plaça Espanya, which is the Llobregat- Anoia Line terminus and part of one of Barcelona’s main transit interchanges, where several FGC lines and Barcelona metro’s Lines 1 and 3 converge. The upgrade includes extending two of the four rail tracks, expanding the vestibule and reconfiguring accesses and connections between levels.


First TBM launched on Turkish high-speed rail project TURKEY – Tunnelling has started on the shield section of Turkey’s Halkali- Ispartakule high-speed rail project. The 8.54m-diameter earth pressure


balance machine (EPBM), CREC 1148, is designed and manufactured by China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co (CREG). It was launched in July. The shield section of the rail project


includes twin bores, each about 6km long and with a maximum depth of 55m. The parallel tunnels are being bored by two EPBMs – CREC 1148 and CREC 1149 –that are each 135m long. Geology along the alignment of the


rail tunnel consists mainly of clay, silt, sandstone, conglomerate, claystone and marlstone. The EPBMs will bore under Lake Küçükçekmece and the proposed Istanbul canal. In addition, CREG has designed a double


screw conveyor system and carried out strata reinforcement to overcome the high water pressures. The second of the two machines - CREC


1149 – is being assembled on site and is to be launched in Q3. The Halkali-Ispartakule high-speed


railway project will improve passenger and freight transport between Istanbul, from the existing Halkali Station, and Ispartakule.


Road tunnel breakthrough, rail lot win for Implenia SWITZERLAND – Implenia has achieved breakthrough on the safety tunnel for the Cholfirst road tunnel project, and separately a joint venture it leads won a contract for Ligerz rail tunnel.


Breakthrough was achieved on the


1.09km-long safety tunnel of Cholfirst Tunnel on A4 freeway near Schaffhausen. The tunnel, commissioned by the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), will serve as an emergency escape route and is part of a package of measures to improve road safety for this section of the freeway. Construction began in 2020 on the main


safety tunnel and associated six connecting tunnels. The tunnelling work involved approximately 22,000m3


installation of 4800 grouted anchors, and 2800m3


of shotcrete. Installation of the operating and


safety equipment is to begin mid-2024 and the tunnel is due to be commissioned in 2025. The Implenia-led joint venture with


Bernasconi and De Luca (IBD JV) has been awarded the CHF220m (€229m/US$250.5m) Lot 2 Ligerz Tunnel contract by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). The aim of the project is to eliminate the


last railway bottleneck on the ‘Jurafuss’ line between Lausanne and Biel. The contract to build the 2.1km-long


double-track tunnel also includes concrete lining and railway technology. Around 1.85km of the tunnel will be mined and around 250m will be cut-and-cover. The contract also includes four escape tunnels. The excavated material will be transported by ship and the existing railway line will be dismantled and redesigned.


Fréjus Tunnel upgrade plan secures funding ITALY, FRANCE – A total of €247m (US$271.4m) has been raised to upgrade the A32 motorway connecting north-west Italy and France via the 12.87km-long Fréjus tunnel. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has


granted a direct loan of around €105m to Società Italiana per il Traforo Autostradale del Frejus (SITAF). In addition, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) has provided €92m and UniCredit €50m. The financing is in addition to the €320m provided in 2013 for the construction of the second T4 tunnel, which is expected to open by the end of 2023. The investment will improve road safety


and modernise the cross-border tunnel, bridges and viaducts along the 80km-long route. The A32 is one of Europe’s key road


arteries and an integral part of the Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans- European Transport Network (TEN-T).


October 2023 | 7 of rock excavation,


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