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.

A joint venture of COWI, Arup and Systra won the engineering contract for the multi-disciplinary civil works (MCW) for the circle line in Copenhagen. A joint venture of Ramboll, Atkins Denmark and Atkins UK pocketed the engineering contract for multi-disciplinary transportation systems (MTS) for the same line. The total amount of these two contracts over a 10-year period is in the DKK400-600 million range. Read E-News Weekly 49/2004. Visit www.cowi.dk, www.arup.com, www.systra.com, www.ramboll.dk, www.atkinsglobal.com and www.m.dk 43/07.

A joint venture of LGAI, Inema and Intemac won a EUR1.8 million contract for quality control during construction of the Fontsanta-Trinidad section of the water line between the Llobregat and Ter potable water stations (packages 1 and 2), including extensive tunnelling. Visit www.lgai.es, www.intemac.es and www.inema.es 43/07.

The canton of Bern’s road office awarded in March the construction contract of the east branch of the A5 motorway bypass in Biel to a consortium of Walo Bertschinger, Specogna Bau and Porr Technobau und Umwelt. The east branch of Biel’s four-lane motorway bypass stretches for 4.9 km. It goes from the A5/A16 interchange in Champs-de-Boujean in the north and then takes the 2 x 1.5 km Büttenberg tunnel. After an open air section in Orpond, the motorway then runs though the 2 x 2.5 km Längholz tunnel. In Marais-de-Brügg in the south, an interchange will connect the east branch with the T6 semi-motorway to Lyss and Bern and with the future west branch, still under planning. Visit www.walo.ch, www.specogna.ch and www.ptu.at

Hifab concluded a NOK1.2 million deal for control engineering for the Wøyen-Bjørum section of the E16. The contract comprises construction of a 5 km four-lane road in Bærum municipality. Half of the section is in tunnel. The main assignment for the consultant is to follow-up contractors for road and tunnel works. Visit www.hifab.no 42/07.

Further to the competitive tendering for construction of the second, west bore of the Pfänder tunnel on the Rhine valley highway A14, the contract winner is FCC’s affiliate Alpine Mayreder with a EUR123 million bid. The existing Pfänder tunnel in the Rhine valley and Walgau is the most trafficked of Austria and long traffic queues bedevil the tunnel to the point that planners considered necessary to double it. Alpine will bore the 6.6 km west tube using the TBM and conveyor belts currently at work under the Mont Sion in France. Click here. The Pfänder tunnel will be the first TBM-driven road tunnel in Austria. Work is set to begin in October to end in the summer of 2012, which is when the existing tube will be refurbished. In summer 2013, the tunnel should be open in both directions. Read E-News Weekly 41/2002. Visit www.alpine.at 42/07.

THV Dialink, a consortium consisting of Belgian contractor CEI-De Meyer, Germany's Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau (both Royal BAM Group operating companies), MBG of Belgium (affiliated to CFE, who belongs to VINCI), VINCI Construction Grands Projets and Smet Tunnelling, has been awarded a contract to build a 2,270 m-long underground rail link under Brussels National airport in Zaventem to provide a railway access to the north of Belgium.

SWECO Grøner will prepare a construction plan for a 14 km section of motorway E6 through Gudbrandsdalen valley, including a 4 km tunnel. The assignment will be carried out on behalf of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and is worth approximately NOK10 million. It is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2008. Visit www.sweco.no 41/07.

A joint venture of Fase, Gibb, Prointec and Tecnoplano secured a EUR4.5 million contract for coordination, quality, safety and environmental management as part of the construction of the 3.6 km Oriente-Airport section on the Red Line. Visit www.fase-sa.pt, www.gibbportugal.com, www.prointec.es and www.tecnoplano.pt 41/07.

ADIF awarded the construction and equipment of the 5.44 km section between the Duero River and the Pinar de Antequera tunnel, including a 2 x 1,057 m-long cut-and-cover tunnel, one for IUC gauge trains and one for Spanish gauge trains, to Corsán-Corviam, Begar and Zarzuela. Visit www.corsan-corviam.es, www.begar.es and www.zarzuelasa.com 41/07.

A joint venture formed by Obras Subterráneas and Teconsa, who constructed the Piqueras tunnel, is likely to pocket also the contract to build the rescue and service tunnel after submitting the low bid, at EUR19.96 million. The 2,625 m tunnel, 21.32 sq m in cross-section, will be constructed parallel to the main tunnel and connected to the existing pressurised shelters by 11 crosscuts, each 16 m long. Full-face NATM will be used. The contract also includes equipment (normal and emergency lighting, signs, ventilation, CCTV, etc.). Visit www.obrassubterraneas.es and www.teconsa.net 41/07

Hindustan Construction Company in joint venture with Alpine Mayreder and Samsung Corporation bagged a INR7.74 billion contract from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for the design and construction of 2.2 km-long twin bored tunnels, with a finished internal diameter of minimum 5.6 m for single track railway, including access and ventilation shaft and a 1.27 km-long cut-and-cover tunnel with two underground stations (New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium) for twin track railway including ramps and reinforced concrete structures to the underground stations. It also includes external and temporary works for the metro rail transmission system link between New Delhi and Talkatora Garden stations. This project is part of the Airport Metro Express Line and is to be completed in 32 months from the date of conclusion of the agreement. HCC’s share in the total value is 33% or INR2.55 billion. Visit www.hccindia.com, www.alpine.at and www.secc.co.kr/e_secc/index.asp 40/07.

Lovat and Construcciones Sando have recently signed a contract for the supply of a refurbished Lovat RME185SE series 20002 earth pressure balance TBM. The 4.7 m-diameter mixed face TBM will be used in the construction of the Coslada sewer tunnel in the suburbs of Madrid. This will be the TBM’s third project, following successful drives in North America and more recently on the Olympic power lines in the Lower Lea valley near London. Superficial geology along the 3,650 m-long tunnel alignment consists of man-made fill underlain by quaternary sandy clayey deposits. Fragments of flint overlying tertiary deposits, comprised of highly plastic clays with silty sands and dispersed crystals of gypsum are also expected. At the tunnel horizon, geology along the first drive is expected to be gypsum, and the second drive consisting of clay, sandy clay and fractured gypsum. The TBM will be shipped from its current location to the jobsite in Spain, where it will be fully inspected prior to undergoing a complete refurbishment under Lovat supervision. Tunnelling is expected to commence in early 2008. Visit www.sando.net and www.lovat.com 40/07.

Dr Werner Fuerlinger and Intergeo pocketed a EUR355,000 contract for geology, hydrogeology and soil mechanics during the planning phase, with focus on roadways and tunnels, for Part 2 of the S 37 expressway in Klagenfurt, between Friesach North and Mölbling. Click at/68 for more. Visit www.geologie-salzburg.at and www.intergeo.at 39/07. Freiland Umweltconsulting bagged a EUR195,400 contract for environmental coordination in the planning phase for the same project. Click at/68 for more. Visit www.freiland.at 39/07.

The eight bidders for widening to four lanes road SS 640 in Porto Empedocle, a project worth EUR448 million and including a 4 km tunnel, two tunnels comprised between 600 and 700 m, two shorter tunnels and a few cut-and-cover tunnels, are Impregilo; Pizzarotti; Condotte; a joint venture of CMC and CCC; a joint venture of Todini and Maltauro; 39/07

The Austin city council approved Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Waller Creek tunnel project, which includes funding for design, bidding and construction. The USD28.3 million design contract went to a joint venture between Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) and Espey Consultants. That process is expected to be complete in 2010. The build portion will include an estimated USD100 million contract for construction of the project. Construction is expected to take place from 2010 to 2014. Click here. Read E-News Weekly 26/2007, 16/2007, 34/2006, 27/2006, 32/2003, 22/2003, 20/2003 & 12/2003. Visit www.kbr.com and www.espeyconsultants.com 38/07.