The construction contract for the EUR133 million Lai Chi Kok Transfer Scheme, advertised at tunnelbuilder.com earlier this year, has been awarded to Leighton Asia. The project includes two 4.9 m-diameter storm water drainage tunnels with total length of 3.7 km between West Kowloon reclamation and Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po districts, six intake shafts, a stilling basin, an outfall adit into Victoria Harbour, and 270 m of 3 m-diameter connection adits. Work starts immediately for completion in 2012. More from Quinnie Lee, tel +852 2823 1427, e-mail quinnie.lee@leightonasia.com 47/08..

Contract valued EUR414,000 awarded by Norwegian Railway Infrastructure Administration to Norconsult AS of Sandvika to provide technical and detailed plans of tunnels for the joint project E6 road and Dovrebanen, lot Minnesund-Kleverud, which includes one twin-tube 0.6 km-long road tunnel and 3.1 km of single railway tunnel over a 17 km-long alignment in Eidsvoll and Stange municipalities. ..

Contract for telecommunications installations for 6.5 km section of new double railway track in Baerum municipality for Lysaker-Sandvika, of which 5.5 km in tunnel, awarded by Jernbaneverket to T Connect AS of Manglerud, Oslo. http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=292852-2008 More from Olaf Bjerknes, tel +47 9943 4144, e-mail olbj@jbv.no 46/08. ..

Bemel Norge AS of Majorstuen, Oslo has been awarded the contract to supply ventilation fans to the 5.37 km-long Atlantic Ocean tunnel between Kristiansund and Bremnes on National Road 64 in the value EUR555,000...

Pre-feasibility study being undertaken by ILF Consulting Engineers for construction of single track railway line along the Karakorum highway between the end of the existing railway network in the south at Havelian and the border between Pakistan and China near the famous Khunjrab Pass in the north.

Prequalification underway by MTR for tender reference no 703 for West Island Line SHW to SYP tunnels value EUR30 million with a view to selective invitations to tender being issued in 4Q/2008 for contract award in 3Q/2009. Expressions of interest to Malcolm O’Neill, tel 3921 3383, e-mail moneill@mtr.com.hk Visit www.mtr.com.hk/eng/tenders/new_projects.html 45/08.

Prior information notice for construction works, value EUR24.86 million, for a undergroung cut-and-cover tunnel from Pabellon Moises Ruiz to Plaza de Barcelona, 1,1 km, with 0.8 m-thick base, 1.0 m-thick walls and 1.0 m-thick roof, on Carretera de Ronda, in Almeria. The works will include intermodal station.

ENEL awarded the construction of the headrace tunnel for the Crevola Toce III hydropower scheme to a joint venture led by Monti and Giacomini Comm. Alberto, with SELI as other partner. Visit www.montispa.it, www.agifin.com/giacominispa/index_giacominispa.html and www.selitunnel.com or www.selitecnologie.com

A joint venture of BEC Frères, Soletanche Bachy, Urbaine de Travaux and Sotraisol Fondations bagged a EUR35.6 million contract to build lot T1 of the extension of Line 4 from Porte d'Orléans to Montrouge. This is a 677 m tunnel. Read E-News Weekly 16/2005. These companies also pocketed lot T3 of the tender for the construction of niches in the existing tunnel in Porte d'Orleans.

A joint venture of VINCI's companies Chantiers Modernes and Campenon Bernard, with also Eiffage TP pocketed a EUR93.1 million contract to build lot T1 of the extension of Line 12 from Porte de la Chapelle to Mairie d'Aubervilliers. This is a 3.6 km tunnel, from Porte de la Chapelle to the cul de sac, to be bored by a 7.8 m-inner diameter TBM. Visit www.chantiers-modernes.fr, www.cbconstruction.fr, www.travauxpublics.eiffage.com and http://extension-reseau.ratp.fr/m12 A joint venture of VINCI's companies Chantiers Modernes and Sogea, with also Eiffage TP pocketed a EUR15.5 million contract to build lot S1. This is to build Proudhon-Gardinoux station, using slurry walls. Read E-News Weekly 16/2005. Visit www.vinci-construction.fr and http://extension-reseau.ratp.fr/m12 06/08.

Setec bagged a EUR2 million contract for studies for the underground architecture of the long-life nuclear waste repository. Read E-News Weekly 6/2006, 24/2004, 27/2002 & 17/2002. Visit www.setec.fr 06/08.

The Kinyras consortium led by J&P-Avax (45%), with French infrastructure and transport concessions group VINCI Concessions (40%) and Cybarco (15%), has been named preliminary preferred bidder for the motorway section linking Paphos to Polis. The project consists of a 30-year contract that includes the financing, design, construction and operation of a 31 km stretch of motorway,

PKE Verkehrstechnik signed a EUR12 million contract to install the E&M equipment in the 3,340 m Achrain three-lane tunnel. Visit www.pke.at 06/08.

Veidekke has been awarded two contracts for two tunnels and access ramps on the Norra Länken (Northern Link), Stockholm’s north ring road, by the Swedish public roads administration. These contracts are worth a total of just under SEK1 billion. Contract NL 33 is for the Albano rock tunnels, including 1.1 km of one-lane tunnels, 650 metres of two-lane tunnels and 500 metres of three-lane tunnels.

The first stage to bury the Sarmiento line between Caballito and Moreno has been commissioned to the Nuevo Sarmiento consortium, formed by the Argentine firm Iecsa, Brazil's Odebrecht, Comsa of Spain and Italy's Ghella, who submitted the low bid. The first section from Caballito to Ciudadela will take 36 months and cost ARS3,367 million.

Cavico has been awarded contracts valued at USD11 million to construct a headrace tunnel and surge tank for the Dak My 4 hydropower plant project. The tunnel, which will connect the water intake and the pressure shaft, will be approximately 3.9 km long, with a diameter of 6.40 m to 7.60 m. The surge tank, intended to neutralize sudden pressure surges, will be approximately 89 m high and have a diameter between 5 and 8.50 m.

The joint venture between Gamuda and MMC has been awarded the contract to build the 329 km Ipoh-Padang Besar double-tracking project at a fixed cost of MYR12.5 billion. The design phase of the project is worth MYR420 million. The track doubling of the northern portion of the Kuala Lumpur-Thai border line, which forms a key section of the planned Singapore-Kunming rail link, will include the 3.3 km-long Bukit Berapit tunnel, Southeast Asia's longest rail tunnel, in Perak state.

Hochtief Construction’s Chilean subsidiary, as member of a joint venture with Tecsa in which it holds a 70% share, has signed an engineer, procurement and construction (EPC) contract of approximately EUR175 million for the 155 MW La Confluencia hydropower station, 150 km south of Santiago.

A consortium of Italian construction company Astaldi and its Turkish partners Makyol and Gülermak is in the lead to get a EUR751.2 million contract from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's transportation department to build a 21.7 km subway line between the Kadiköy and Kartal districts of Istanbul's Asian side. Astaldi, which is leading the group in the bidding for the contract, could get 42%, or EUR315.4 million, of the total value of the contract which also includes the E&M and signalling technology.

The Ministry of development has awarded a joint venture formed by Obras Subterraneas and Teconsa the complementary safety works to upgrade the Piqueras tunnel on road N-111 and make it comply with the European safety regulation. The contract amounts to nearly EUR20 million and the time line is ten months. An escape and rescue tunnel will be built parallel to the 2,625 m-long tunnel and will be connected to the existing pressurised shelters. If all proceeds according to schedule, the Piqueras tunnel will be completed in the autumn of 2008, which means it will be opened three years later than the initial date. The ministry awarded in end-2002 the construction of the Piqueras tunnel to the same builders, who have been working on its construction since 2003. Nevertheless, the European Union approved in April 2004 a directive setting minimum safety requirements in road tunnels, which the ministry transposed into Spanish law. Read E-News Weekly 37/2004, 15/2004, 6/2004, 13/2003 & 45/2002. Visit www.obrassubterraneas.es and www.teconsa.net 04/08.

Ayesa landed a EUR840,000 contract for construction supervision and health and safety coordination during construction of section II of the supply system from Cenajo dam to the basin of Taibilla canals, including a 5,950 m-long water tunnel and connecting pipe to the Cenajo water treatment plant. Visit www.ayesa.es 04/08.

The City of Oslo has contracted Dovre International as purchaser for several water projects in Oslo, including the Oset/Voldsløkka tunnel, which would be 30 km and about 5 m wide. The purchaser will be responsible for the development of tenders, bid evaluation, negotiations, recommendations and signing of contracts. Visit www.dovre.biz 04/08.