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.

Negotiated invitation to tender, deadline 22nd April, 2007 for construction of lots A and B of the Las Lagunas-Cala de Mijas section on the Costa del Sol rail line. This section includes a 2 x 4 km tunnel. The two parallel tunnels will be bored using a pair of TBMs working towards La Cala de Mijas from the Fuengirola river.

Open invitation to tender, deadline 31st March, 2008 for assistance to the preparation and signing of a PPP contract for the L2 ring road in Marseille. The L2 ring road is a 9 km infrastructure to join highways A50 to Aubagne and Toulon in the east and A7 to Aix-en-Provence in the north. The 5.2 km east section will open in 2011. Its construction is under way. The 2 x three-lane north section will run in shallow cut-and-cover tunnel on 75% of its 3.8 km alignment. The north section will open in 2015. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=59763-2008, OJ S 43, or contact DRE PACA, Marseille, fax +33 491284366. Visit www.l2marseille.com 12/08.

Restricted invitation to tender, deadline 16th April, 2008 for the medium and low voltage installations for the Tullnerfeld station and tunnel equipment for the Perschling chain of tunnels on the Vienna-St. Pölten high speed rail section. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=69917-2008, OJ S 51, or contact ÖBB Infrastruktur Bau, Vienna, fax +43 19300045799. E-mail martin.neulinger@bau.oebb.at 12/08.

Astaldi, as general contractor and leader of a joint venture with Makyol and Gülermak, and the municipality of Istanbul signed a EUR751 million contract for the construction of the new Kadiköy-Kartal line in Istanbul. The contract has been signed after the joint venture was named preferred bidder in January.

A EUR2.4 million detailed design contract for Valencia's cross city high speed rail tunnel has been awarded to Sener. The first section of the route runs in an approx. 5 km tunnel from the north station. Then the second section of some four kilometres travels in open air. The project also includes two new urban stations. Visit www.sener.es 11/08.

Schimetta Consult, BHM Ingenieure and Laabmayr & Partner landed a EUR4.8 million contract to carry out the detailed planning for the 5.5 km Harter Plateau tramway line in Linz, which includes a 2 x 900 m-long bored tunnel to access to the existing underground railway station. Visit www.schimetta.at, www.bhm-ing.com, www.laabmayr.at 11/08.

A joint venture formed by Dragados and Tecsa, both owned by ACS, bagged a EUR105.5 million contract to build the 4.9 km Arroyo de la Viñuela-Quejigares section on the Antequera (Malaga)-Granada high speed link. The contract includes the construction of the 3,343 m Quejigares tunnel, which represents 68% of the total length of the section. Visit www.dragados.com and www.tecsa.es 10/08.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded Taisei Corporation the civil works contract 907 for the Landmark station, tunnels and the main trunk road above the station, as part of Stage 1 of the Downtown Line (DTL). The contract is valued at SGD230 million. Visit www.taisei.com 10/08. Contract 906 for the Bayfront station has been awarded to Sembawang Engineers & Constructors.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded the civil works contract 901 for the Circle Line (CCL) to Hock Lian Seng Infrastructure. The contract is valued at SGD348.4 million. Contract 901 is for the construction and completion of the Marina Bay station and tunnels. The scope of the contract also includes addition and alteration works to the existing North South Line (NSL) at Marina Bay station, diversions as well as demolition of an underpass. Visit www.hlsgroup.com.sg 10/08.

As part of the preliminary studies on the alignment of the new Gotthard railway link through the Alps, south of Lugano, the feasibility and opportunity analysis of the four alternatives has been commissioned to the consortium RBM (Rapp Trans, Basler & Hofmann and Ingegneria Maggia), that gathers ten companies altogether.

Venezuela's state railway autonomous institute IAFE and the Italian embassy signed in January a letter of intent for the construction of the 70 km-long La Encrucijada-Charallave railway section, the last link to connect Caracas with Puerto Cabello. The path is in phase of optimisation and for the moment 18 tunnels stretching for a total of approx. 25 km are planned. The letter of intent sets the basis for awarding the contract to a consortium of builders which is expected to be formed by Ghella, Astaldi and Impregilo, who are currently building the Puerto Cabello-La Encrucijada section. Click here. 08/08.

In December, Arup has been appointed technical advisor during the construction phase which will see the existing Tyne tunnel double in capacity by introducing a new 1.6 km tunnel, including an immersed tube tunnel. The new tunnel will carry two lanes of southbound traffic while the existing tunnel will be converted to carry two lanes of traffic travelling northbound. Arup worked with the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (TWPTA) for the last eight years to develop designs for the crossing and to help procure a concessionaire for the project. Construction of the new Tyne crossing is scheduled to begin next spring and take four years. Read E-News Weekly 4/2008. Click here. Visit www.arup.com and www.newtynecrossing.info 08/08.

A joint venture of GOC and Seinco landed a EUR790,000 contract for site supervision as well as health and safety coordination during construction of the 1.9 km Rañadoiro tunnel on the Cornellana-Cerredo Pass section of road AS-15 at Rañadoiro Pass. Visit www.gocsa.es and www.seinco.net 08/08.

A joint venture including CETu (Centre d’Etudes des Tunnels), CETE (Centre d’Etudes Techniques de l’Equipement), both under the Ministry of ecology, sustainable development and land planning, Bonnard et Gardel and its subsidiary Tonello scooped a EUR3.8 million contract for advise and general technical assistance for the north ring road in Grenoble. Read E-News Weekly 42/2007. Visit www.cetu.equipement.gouv.fr and www.bg-21.com 08/08.

Siemens is supplying an operations management and traffic control system to the value of around EUR57 million for 29 tunnels on a 4-lane road from Espiye to the Sarp/Batumi border checkpoint along the coast of the Black Sea in the direction of Georgia's border. Siemens will be installing a central control station with seven control substations as well as the entire technical infrastructure with traffic control, fire protection, fire fighting, power supply, lighting, and ventilation systems as well as communication and camera monitoring equipment with automatic event detection. Click here for more. Visit www.siemens.com/traffic 08/08.