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.

Duesseldorf that will provide significant relief to inner-city traffic when it goes into operation in 2015. The dual-track tunnel will be built by a tunnel boring machine. The techniques selected for the construction of five underground train stations (Jacobi Strasse/Pempelforter Strasse, Schadowstrasse, Benrather Strasse, Graf-Adolf-Platz, and Kirchplatz) will ensure that traffic is disrupted as little as possible during the construction phase. Extensive foundation engineering works will serve to protect existing structures in Duesseldorf’s inner-city. The line will be actually the second cross-city tunnel, probably for the existing low floor tram lines 703, 712, 713, between the suburban rail stations of Wehrhahn and Bilk. At Heinrich-Heine-Allee, a 300 m stretch was already built together with the first city tunnel in the 1980s. The old tram route above running through the shopping areas of Schadowstrasse and the old city will be removed. The new underground will also improve access to the new Duesseldorf shopping complex which is currently under construction in the area of Bilk located next to the S-Bahn station. Visit www.bilfingerberger.de 49/07.

Colombian highway concessionaire San Rafael is preparing to launch a number of tender processes for the construction of the Girardot-Ibagué highway and rehabilitation of the Ibagué-Cajamarca section. The company is currently working to conclude the concession contract signing process, taking all the legal steps necessary to start works as soon as possible. The concessionaire, awarded the project in July of this year, submitted a COP349 billion investment plan. The 20-year concession contract includes carrying out all the necessary technical and financial studies, including the project's environmental impact, along with the rehabilitation, construction, expansion and operation of the highway. Works will also include the construction of a tunnel and bypasses. Rehabilitation works will be carried out over 93.7 km of highway, while construction works will total 73.4 km. The concessionaire is expected to hire machinery and purchase steel, concrete, asphalt, and other construction materials, for a total of nearly COP333 billion. The concessionaire is formed by 10 companies: Aseo Técnico, Codesa, Constructora Colpatria, Constructora San Isidro, HB Estructuras Metálicas, Latinco, Mincivil, Sadelec, Termotécnica Coindustrial, and Topco. Section 2 is the 10.3 km Gualanday road bypass, a single carriageway with two 3.65 m lanes and 1.8 m shoulders. The project includes the single tube Deza tunnel, 1.8 km in length. Visit http://direccion.camara.gov.co/camara/site/artic/20060510/asocfile/apendice_a___gic___20_12_2006.doc 49/07.

The contract for construction of the 10.3 km Hong Kong west drainage tunnel has been awarded on 23rd November, 2007 by the Drainage Services Department (DSD) to a Dragages-Nishimatsu joint venture. The contract value is HKD2.75 billion. The successful tenderer offered the lowest bid. The tunnel will vary in diameter between 6.25 m and 7.25 m and run from Tai Hang to north of Telegraph Bay on the western side of Hong Kong Island. The scheme also includes adits totalling 7.5 km and 35 intake shafts. Visit www.dsd.gov.hk/home/index.htm, www.dragageshongkong.com and www.nishimatsu.co.jp/eng 49/07.

BGG Consult and ESW Consulting Wruss pocketed a EUR660,500 for groundwater preservation during construction of the Unterweitersdorf-Freistadt North section of the Muehlviertler expressway S10. The route of the Muehlviertler expressway S10 extends the existing Muehlkreis motorway A7 from Unterweitersdorf with a long tunnel section across Neumarkt and Lest to Freistadt in the south. Read E-News Weekly 33/2005 & 45/2004. Visit www.bgg.at 49/07.

A joint venture formed by IGT Geotechnik und Tunnelbau, iC Consulenten, and Amberg Engineering bagged a contract for permission planning with option for tender and execution planning, site supervision and geotechnics for the St. Paul-Aich section on the Koralm line between Graz and Klagenfurt, including the Granitztal chain of tunnels. Visit www.igt.co.at, www.ic-group.at and www.amberg.ch 49/07.

Karlander Konsult signed a contract to be site manager for an approx. 8 km-long sewage tunnel between Lerum and Partille. Hourly rate of SEK690/hour. Click se/24. Visit www.karlanderkonsult.se 48/07. Bergab and Karlander Konsult signed a contract for inspection and control of the construction works for an approx. 8 km-long sewage tunnel between Lerum and Partille. Hourly rate of SEK670/hour. Visit www.bergab.se Click se/24. 48/07.

A consortium of Bruesa and Ploder has been awarded a EUR51.1 million construction contract for the third section of the Segarra-Garrigues canal in Lleida. The project encompasses the construction of 21 additional kilometres of this canal until the municipality of Tarrega (Urgell). It includes the construction of the 2.4 km Tarrega tunnel. Once this third phase is completed, the Segarra-Garrigues canal will stretch for 42.5 kilometres out of the planned 84.7 km length. Read E-News Weekly 36/2005. Visit www.bruesa.com and www.ploder.es 48/07.

Tunnel and GeoConsult, and independent consulting engineers Sigmund Bakk and Lise Backer have been contracted by the Norwegian National Rail Administration for quality control assistance to the construction manager the Lysaker-Sandvika line. Read E-News Weekly 16/2007, 46/2006 & 19/2006. Visit www.tunnelandgeoconsult.com 48/07.

The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) advised candidates of the list of qualified candidates for the Metro North project on 11th September, 2007 and gave them until 2nd November to form qualified bidding groups consisting of one qualified candidate from each of the qualified infrastructure, qualified operator and qualified rolling stock supplier. RPA has received confirmation of the formation of four qualified bidding groups as follows: Cathró (Fluor, Royal BAM Group, Siemens, Strabag, and Veolia), Celtic Metro Group (Barclays Private Equity, OHL, Mitsui, Soares da Costa, CAF, and MTR), Dublin Express Link (HSBC Infrastructure Fund Management, Meridiam Infrastructure Finance, Acciona, Bouygues, Siac, Alstom, Spie Rail, Alstom Transport, and Keolis), and MetroExpress (Macquarie Bank, AIB, FCC, Caja Madrid, Bombardier, and Transdev/RATP). 48/07.

A 51-49 joint venture of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Shanghai Urban Construction (Group) Corporation has won a INR2.75 billion order from the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) to design and build a 2.4 km twin tunnel starting from the Indira Gandhi International Airport station to Dwarka Sector 21 on the Airport Metro Express Line.

The environmental impact assessment for the Inter-reservoirs Transfer Scheme (IRTS), a 2.8 km-long 3 m-diameter water tunnel between Kowloon Byewash Reservoir and Lower Shing Mun Reservoir has been awarded to Mott Connell for HKD950,000. Visit www.mottconnell.hk 48/07. Investigation during design and construction of the Inter-reservoirs Transfer Scheme (IRTS), a 2.8 km-long 3 m-diameter water tunnel between Kowloon Byewash Reservoir and Lower Shing Mun Reservoir for the 2007-2013 period has been commissioned to Black & Veatch for HKD5.5 million. Visit www.bvhk.com and www.epd.gov.hk/eia/register/profile/latest/esb154.pdf to know more. 48/07.

A consortium named AS194 Bahntechnik led by Bernard Ingenieure, with Elbas and Systra as partners, secured a EUR5.6 million contract covering the management of planning and coordination of the executive planning of the entire signalling, telecommunication systems and energy supply for the tunnel sections (approx. 32 km) on the Kundl/Radfeld-Baumkirchen section of the Lower Inn valley railway. Click at/44 & at/45. Visit www.bernard-ing.com, www.elbas.ch and www.systra.com 48/07.

A team of Wayss & Freytag, Held & Francke, and Habau will construct the 1,695 m Hengsberg tunnel on the Koralm high speed line between Graz and Klagenfurt. Visit www.wf-ingbau.de and www.habau.at 48/07.

Ardanuy scooped a EUR374,500 contract to design the safety and telecommunication equipment for the Vilagarcía de Arousa-Padrón section on the Atlantic coast high speed link. The Vilagarcía de Arousa-Catoira subsection includes three tunnels, of 1,320, 950 and 490 metres in length. The A Vacariza-Rialiño subsection includes two tunnels, of 300 and 650 metres in length. The Rialiño-Padrón subsection includes a 1.7 km tunnel. Visit www.ardanuy.com 47/07.

ILF of Austria and its Polish branch have been appointed to carry out the feasibility study for the central section from Daszynskiego roundabout to Wilenski railway station on Line 2 of the Warsaw metro. The contract is worth PLN3.3 million. This 6.3 km includes seven stations. Visit www.ilf.com and www.metro.waw.pl 47/07.