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.

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.

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.

Systra pocketed a EUR2.3 million contract extension for assistance to the owner as part the extension of Line 1 between La Timone and La Fourragère and the refurbishment of the Noailles tunnel for the tramway. Visit www.systra.com 37/07.

CMC of Italy has signed a EUR42.5 million contract for the execution of Tunnel #9, which is part of the Yintao water supply project, comprising more than 200 km of tunnels. Tunnel #9 has a length of 18.3 km, an excavation diameter of 5.75 metres and a finished diameter of 4.96 metres. The contract has been awarded to the Gansu Zhongyi joint venture formed by CMC and Sinohydro Engineering Bureau No. 4. The tunnel will be executed in 65 months using a TBM for the excavation and the subsequent lining made up of precast segments. The project is located in the province of Gansu, 130 km from the town of Lanzhou, where CMC already executed, at the end of eighties, the Yindaruqin irrigation project. Visit www.cmc.coop 37/07.

Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. (STEC) has won a CNY530 million contract from the Shenzhen metro corporation for the construction of a 4.8 km section of Line 2. About three kilometres of tunnel will be built by tunnel boring machine.

Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. (STEC) has been awarded a CNY279 million contract in Hangzhou for the design and construction of running tunnels between Binjiang station and the Fuchun Street station on Line 1 of the Hangzhou metro. Read E-News Weekly 36/2007. Visit www.stec.net or www.tunnelling.cn 36/07.