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.

Metroproject of Sofia has been awarded the technical design for the 4,130 m Obelya station-Nadezhda Road junction of Sofia’s second metro line, including four stations. 22/08.

IDS bagged a EUR1.5 million contract related to the new Tauern tunnel, the old Tauern tunnel and the operation centre in Salzburg. The main job is for site management and to be in contact with the companies, who offer the safety equipment for both tubes (ventilation, power supply, emergency power supply, fire detection, air quality measurement systems, lighting, control systems, etc.). All these different systems have to be monitored during installation in respect to their function, costs and time. Also cost and time control as well as status reports are included in the contract. The operation centre in Salzburg is the main point for all incoming information from all tunnels in the area. Visit www.ids.or.at 22/08

The Brisbane city council has appointed a Sinclair Knight Merz and Connell Wagner joint venture to plan the 5.5 km northern link road, which includes a 4.7 km tunnel under the inner-western suburbs of Brisbane, between the western freeway and the inner city bypass. The route will start at the Toowong roundabout and head northeast towards the city, running under suburbs such as Red Hill, Auchenflower, Rosalie, Paddington and Kelvin Grove. The detailed plan will be drawn up this year and pending approval, the project will go to tender in 2009. It is not expected to open until 2014. Click here to download the map. Visit www.skmconsulting.com and www.conwag.com The northern link will be the fourth project in the TransApex ring road vision. Work has already started on the North-South Bypass Tunnel and the Hale Street Link, while the preferred tenderer for the Airport Link has just been named. 22/08.

The Queensland government announced BrisConnections as the preferred bidder for the 6.7 km Brisbane airport link, the 3 km Windsor to Kedron section of the northern busway and a new 750 m fly-over road above the airport roundabout. BrisConnections is a fully integrated consortium of Macquarie Capital Group, Leighton subsidiaries Thiess and John Holland, Arup and Parsons Brinckerhoff. BrisConnections will design, construct, finance, own and operate the airport link project, design and construct the Windsor to Kedron section of the northern busway and design and construct a direct link between the east-west arterial and airport drive known as the airport drive connection.

Dywidag International of Munich, as leader of an international consortium with Cosider of Algeria and Trevi of Italy, was awarded the contract for the civil works of the second extension of Line 1 in Algiers, from Hai El Badr to El Harrach in the eastern part of Algiers. The new contract covers the construction of a 2,712 m-long tunnel, four stations (Bachdjarah 1, Bachdjarah 2, El Harrach Gare, El Harrach Centre), a bridge over the motorway, a river crossing as well as several ventilation buildings. In a planned period of 32 months, construction works will be carried out in an area of four kilometres and will amount to approximately EUR252 million including taxes. The tunnel will be built using NATM while the four stations will be built in open cut. Visit www.dywidag.com, www.cosider-groupe.dz and www.trevispa.com

A joint venture formed by Acciona Infraestructuras, Ferrovial Agromán, Bruesa Construcción, Mejías y Rodríguez, and VVO has been entrusted with the construction of the new road link from Icod de Los Vinos to El Tanque. The contract is worth EUR120.9 million and construction will take 31 months.

A joint venture of Idom, Fulcrum, Dair and Geoconsult pocketed a EUR2.66 million contract (without VAT) for the design of section 9 Peñascal-Venta Alta. This will last 16 months. The same group of companies secured a EUR5.77 contract (without VAT) for the public hearings, environment impact study, land expropriation and construction management. This will last 49 months. Section 9 includes the 2 x 1,585 m Arnotegi tunnel and the 2 x 510 m Seberetxe tunnel (which, according to the preliminary project, could be 2 x 1,585 m in length) and a 75 m cut-and-cover tunnel, also named Seberetxe. Visit www.idom.es, www.fulcrum.es, www.dair.es and www.geoconsult.es 21/08.

Egis Rail signed a EUR1.5 million deal for civil engineering studies for Line B of the driverless light metro in Rennes. Visit www.egis-rail.fr 21/08.

Three operating companies of Dutch builder Royal BAM Group, namely CEI-De Meyer, Galère and Wayss & Freytag, have won a contract in joint venture with Jan De Nul and Franki Geotechnics for the construction of the Schuman-Josaphat rail link in Brussels. The contract value amounts to approximately EUR210 million. The project includes the reconstruction of the current Schuman rail and underground station, as well as the construction of a 1.5 km-long rail tunnel in the European quarter of Brussels. Visit www.bam.nl, www.cei-demeyer.be, www.galere.be, www.wf-ingbau.de, www.jandenul.com and www.franki-geotechnics.be 21/08.

Jacobs Engineering Group announced on 29th April that it received, in joint venture with its partner LiRo Engineers, a contract from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction Company to provide consultant construction management services for the East Side Access project in New York City. The value of the seven-year contract is estimated at USD75 million. The project involves boring nearly 11.2 km of railroad tunnels in Manhattan and Queens, laying 15,250 metres of track, building a new terminal under Grand Central Terminal, and building a new commuter station in the Sunnyside Yard in Queens in addition to extensive infrastructure work. Visit www.jacobs.com and www.liro.com

Pöyry has been awarded an engineering services contract in the Gotthard base tunnel project by the Swiss Transtec Gotthard consortium. The assignment comprises support of the operational management, technical coordination and planning integration. The value of the contract is about EUR10 million.

AEPO secured a EUR2.3 million contract to design the 27 km Venta de Baños section on the Valladolid-Burgos-Venta de Baños-Palencia line. There are two tunnels, each 1.1 km in length. Visit www.aepo.es 20/08.

Elettrica System pocketed a EUR3 million contract to rehabilitate the lighting equipment in tunnels on highway A10 Genoa-Ventimiglia-French border: Madonna delle Grazie II (386 m), Vignetta (734 m), Cavetto I (241 m), Cavetto II (295 m), Varazze (374 m), Cantalupo (768 m), Piani di Celle (363 m),

Electro Obrist scooped a EUR2.62 million contract for the E&M equipment (ventilation, lighting and safety outfit) for the Ora bypass road and the connection between the Ora-San Lugano trunk road SS 48 and highway A22. The Ora bypass road includes the 995 m Castelfeder tunnel, which holed through in February. The connection between the SS 48 and the A22 is the second section of the Ora bypass road and includes the 1,078 m San Daniele tunnel. Tenders for the construction of the San Daniele tunnel have been declared void in March. Click here and here. Visit www.electro-obrist.com 20/08.

On 29th April, 2008, a consortium headed by Impregilo has been provisionally awarded a contract worth about EUR630 million for the final and constructional designs and construction of the first stretch of the Pedemontana Lombarda motorway, from highway A8 in Cassano Magnago to highway A9 in Lomazzo, and the first sections of the Como and Varese bypass roads and associated works.