Prior information notice of start of award procedures on 27.05.2010 for general safety upgrade and restoration of six road tunnels to RABT 2006 standard, value EUR26.5 million, commencing winter 2010 with Herkulestrasse, value EUR7.54 million. For further information contact Stadt Koeln, tel +49 221221-23647, fax –28715, e-mail zentrales-vergabeamt@stadt-koeln.de. For details of all tunnels involved in this project visit tunnelbuilder archive de/106. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062973-2010. 10/10...

Vicenzetto Srl of Villa Estense have secured the EUR587,987 contract for test drilling and boring work in Brenner Base tunnel. Contact Johann Hager at BBT SE in Innsbruck, tel +43 5124030, fax +43 5124030-110, e-mail ava@bbt-se.com. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062301-2010 and www.vicenzetto.it. ..

The CPV consortium, formed by CSC SA (Lugano) and Pizzarotti SA (Bellinzona), signed the EUR43 million contract for the construction of Lot 854 at Vezia, the main lot of Ceneri Base Tunnel, including the south portal, 200 m of cut-and-cover tunnel, as well as drilling, blasting and lining both tunnels along a length of 300 m. Works at Vezia will continue until 2016. Commercial operation of the Ceneri Base Tunnel with scheduled train services is planned to start at the end of 2019. Of the total of 40.19 km of the Ceneri Base Tunnel, at the end of February 2010, 7,673 m, or 19.1%, had been ..

Imtech Austria Anlagentechnik GmbH of Linz have secured the contract for supply, installation and commissioning of ventilation equipment for the tunnel section of the Harter Plateau tramway line. For more, contact Ing. Harald Grogger at Managementservice Linz GmbH in Linz, tel +43 7323400-7982, fax -157982, e-mail h.grogger @ linzag.at. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=059736-2010. 10/10...

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA is inviting companies to prequalify for civil engineering work on railway tunnels in Italy. Further information and documents from Iacomino Raffaele at Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato in Milan, tel +39 02637 148-19, fax –20, e-mail dns-qs@rfi.it to whom requests to participate should be sent. Visit

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.

Skanska is the low bidder at NOK197.1 million to rehabilitate the 3,520 m Ellingsøy tunnel and the 4,222 m Valderøy tunnel in Ålesund, ahead of Mesta (NOK211.7 million) and Veidekke with NOK260.3 million. The tunnels opened in 1989. Work will take place at night, starting in September for a period of 12-17 months. New waterproofing and frost protection will be installed and new technical installations will be installed. Also, 15 niches will be built. Visit www.skanska.com 25/08.

Mexican public works groups ICA and Cicsa, and French industrial group Alstom's Alstom Mexicana unit, signed a deal on 12th June to build the new Golden Line 12 in Mexico City. The contract is worth MXP17.6 billion. The two Mexican companies will take charge of digging tunnels and infrastructure while Alstom will be in charge of electrical wiring and the electromechanical systems.

Communauté d'Agglomérations de Mantes en Yvelines (CAMY) has awarded Ginger Environnement et Infrastructures (GEI) a contract to design and manage the construction of a 1.3 km 3 m-diameter drainage tunnel planned on the site of the garbage storage plant in Guitrancourt. This tunnel is designed to protect the water table from the garbage. The works are scheduled to last 18 months. Visit www.gingergroupe.com 25/08.

On 13th May, 2008, the Omaha city council approved a USD510,000 contract with Parsons Brinckerhoff to carry out geotechnical and geophysical exploration and testing of soil and rock samples for the planned deep tunnel to be constructed under Omaha for storage and conveyance of combined storm water and sanitary sewage.

The contract to build the immersed tube section of Newcastle's GBP260 million Tyne tunnel has been awarded to specialist contractor Volker Stevin Marine by tunnel concessionaire TT2, a consortium led by French contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics. It handed Volker Stevin Marine the GBP16 million contract to manufacture, transport and submerse the tunnel units that will form the structure's 360 m immersed tube section. The contract involves the construction of four 90 m-long split sections of rectangular precast and reinforced concrete, which are 8.5 m by 15 m in size and altogether will require 14,400 cubic metres of concrete.

Consorcio de Aguas de Busturialdea - the Busturialdea subregion water agency in the province of Biscay - awarded Ferrovial Agromán and Excavaciones Leandro Gómez a EUR9.2 million contract for the construction of the section from Sukarrieta to the future Lamiaran wastewater treatment works, which forms part of the main sewer on the left bank of the Mundaka estuary. Construction management has been awarded to Euroconsult for EUR288,500.

FCC and Enrique Ortiz e Hijos bagged a EUR32 million contract to design and construct the Finca Adoc section on the tram line 1 in Alicante. A new 2 km dual-track section will be built, including a 1,470 m tunnel through Serra Grossa. An escape exit perpendicular to the tunnel will also be constructed. Visit www.fcc.es 24/08.

Intecsa-Inarsa scooped a EUR4.2 million contract to design the 4,680 m cross-city high speed tunnel and the new Campo Grande underground station in Valladolid. Visit www.intecsa-inarsa.es 24/08.

Sener and KV Consultores scooped a EUR2.2 million contract for work inspection of the 5 km Sarria de Ter-Sant Julia de Ramis section, which includes the 3,042 m Sarria tunnel and the 475 m Montagut tunnel. Visit www.sener.es and www.kvconsultores.es 24/08.

Skanska has been entrusted with the construction of the 375 m Nakke tunnel and the 850 m Haukabø tunnel on national road Rv 662 in Molde. The contract amounts to NOK85.3 million and comprises four portals, the excavation and support of the tunnels, water and frost protection, and approx. 400 metres of adjacent roads. Visit www.skanska.no 24/08.

Line 7 of the Tehran metro is divided in two lots of an approximate total length of 27 km. The bored diameter is 9.15 m whereas the outer and inner diameters are respectively 8.85 and 8.15 m. Geology consists of alluvium from coarse grain to fine grain and maybe bedrock. The owner of the project is Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Company (TUSRC). Sepasad is the general contractor and subcontracted the construction to SELI for one section and Hara Institute for the second section. SELI will excavate the north-south lot (13 to 14 km) using one refurbished, upsized dual mode EPB TBM made by SELI using some minor components of a Lovat TBM used for the Torino metro (mainly cylinders and back-up). Lining rings will be placed as per a 6+1 segment configuration with 35 cm-thick 1.5 m-long bolted universal segments and bi-component grout pumped to the extrados. The maker of the segments moulds has not been selected yet. Tunnelling is scheduled to commence in April 2009 and will last three years. Hara Institute is the subcontractor of the west-east lot with almost the same length. No TBM has been chosen yet as Hara is getting the offers from TBM suppliers. Visit www.tehranmetro.com, www.sepasad.com/indexEN.asp and www.selitunnel.com 24/08.

A consortium headed by Systra, with Infraproject and Metroconsult as partners, signed a EUR6.3 million contract (VAT not included) for engineering and assistance to Sofia metro operator Metropolitan for the 6.4 km section of Line 2 with seven stations from Nadezhda Road junction to Cherni Vrah Boulevard. Visit www.systra.com, http://infrapro.com, www.metroconsult.com and www.metropolitan.bg 24/08.

Balfour Kilpatrick, the services and power systems business of Balfour Beatty, has been awarded a GBP25 million contract to deliver mechanical and electrical services for Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering, which is currently working on the GBP371 million A3 Hindhead tunnel project on behalf of the Highways Agency.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded a contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff for architectural and engineering services for the proposed Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE). Parsons Brinckerhoff will be carrying out the design for electrical and mechanical systems, tunnel portals, escape staircases, and ventilation buildings and will perform various associated civil and architectural tasks. The company will also provide coordination and supervision services for the construction of these elements of the expressway. Visit www.pbworld.com

For the 4.5 km Gevingåsen rail tunnel between Hommelvik and Hell, COWI pocketed two contracts for detailed design, PTL for quality assurance, Sweco for construction management, and Opak for health and safety coordination and environmental follow-up. Visit www.cowi.dk, www.ptl.no, www.swecogroup.com and www.opak.no 22/08.