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.

Open invitation to tender, deadline 5th November, 2008 for construction of access roads to the Hardanger bridge, including the 2,200 m Bu tunnel (contract TV-02, this is a re-bid) and the 700 m Vallavik tunnel (contract TV-03), both with roundabouts. The cross-section is about 60 square metres (Norwegian profile T8.5). Drilling and blasting will be used. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=176363-2008, OJ S 132, and http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=177863-2008, OJ S 133, or contact Statens vegvesen Region west, Leikanger, fax +47 57655986. E-mail hardangerbridge.tender@vegvesen.no 30/08.

Restricted invitation to tender, deadline 1st September, 2008 for design and construction of the 2.9 km Saint-Oyen bypass on road SS 27 to the Gran San Bernardo pass. The contract includes a 2,658 m single bore tunnel to bypass the town of Saint-Oyen. It is part of a road upgrade between Etroubles and the Gran San Bernardo cross-border tunnel, divided in two separate tenders: the Saint-Oyen bypass (lot I) and the Etroubles bypass (lot II), which will require a 1.5 km bored tunnel. The new Saint-Oyen bypass will improve mobility in the Gran San Bernardo valley to Switzerland, thus developing cross-border ties. The existing SS 27 road to the Gran San Bernardo is very sinuous with steep gradients. It is a single carriageway with one lane per direction. It is the unique communication link from the Gran San Bernardo tunnel to Aosta and vice versa. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=177151-2008, or contact ANAS, Rome, fax +39 0644462009. E-mail r.memoli@stradeanas.it 30/08.

Open invitation to tender, deadline 1st September, 2008 for geology, hydrogeology, geotechnics and geomechanics as part of the planning of the Riegersdorf-Heiligenkreuz section on the Fuerstenfelder expressway S7, including the 2,190 m Speltenbach tunnel, the 3,040 m Rudersdorf tunnel and the 450 m Koenigsdorf tunnel. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=179748-2008, OJ S 134, or contact Asfinag Bau Management, Vienna, fax +43 5010814420. E-mail baumanagement@asfinag.at 30/08.

Open invitation to tender, deadline 28th August, 2008 for construction management of the Roveredo bypass on the A13. The project includes the 2,381 m San Fedele tunnel and its parallel safety bore. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=172379-2008, OJ S 129, or contact OFROU, Bellinzona, fax +41 918206890. E-mail bellinzona@astra.admin.ch 29/08.

Open invitation to tender, deadline 13th August, 2008 for construction of the high speed train tunnel between the stations of Atocha and Chamartin in Madrid. The section is 7.33 km long, whereof 6.85 km corresponding to a UIC gauge dual-track tunnel. Most of the tunnel will be driven using a TBM (6,041 m), except for a short initial stretch (22 m), which will be built using the German method, and the final part, which will be mined using the Madrid method (563 m) and cut-and-cover techniques (170 m).

Restricted invitation to tender, deadline 15th September, 2008 for construction of the Midgardsormen project. A 2 km rock tunnel with a cross-section of 25 sq m will be built from Gamlebyen to Bekkelaget treatment plant, using microtunnelling. A shaft down to a level of approx.

Open invitation to tender, deadline 26th August, 2008 for delivery, assembly, commissioning and maintenance of jet fans in the Kaltenbach and Kirchdorf tunnels, respectively 2 x 1,150 m and 2 x 2,800 m in length, on the Stausee Zlatten-Maustatt section of expressway S 35. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=174405-2008, OJ S 131, or contact Asfinag, Vienna, fax +43 5010814420. E-mail baumanagement@asfinag.at 29/08.

Two consortiums have made offers for the BOT concession contract for an immersed highway tunnel project to connect the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The Turkish-Korean Joint Venture (TKJV) made up of Turkey's Yapi Merkezi and South Korean companies SKEC, Samwhan Corp.,

Restricted invitation to tender, deadline 1st September, 2008 for engineering and conceptual design for a new entry into the city of The Hague from the south, called the Trekvliettracé, including a more than 1 km bored tunnel and connecting roads at both ends (Ypenburg and Binckhorst harbour). The contract includes also air and acoustic studies. This is a dual two-lane road with design speed of 70 km/hour. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=154832-2008, OJ S 116, or contact City of The Hague, The Hague, fax +31 703536485. E-mail aanbesteden@dsb.denhaag.nl 28/08.

Invitation for proposal (tender No. CCD-SJVNL-801(CS)-07), deadline 25th September, 2008 for construction stage geological investigation work including surface geological mapping of 47 tunnels and their portal locations; preparation of geological sections along tunnels based on the surface geological mapping and subsurface explorations and drilling data; recommended / suggested additional subsurface exploration by drilling / geophysical surveys in future, if necessary; geological face logging of tunnels during the excavation; and day-to-day suggestions / advice on geotechnical matters to site engineers in consultation with SJVNL design engineers.

Negotiated invitation to tender, deadline 8th August, 2008 for planning of the two-lane Hirschhagen tunnel (4,128 m / 4,187 m) on highway A44 Kassel-Herleshausen. The tunnel may be built using NATM or by TBM. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=170397-2008, OJ S 128, or contact Amt fuer Strassen- und Verkherswesen Kassel, Kassel, fax +49 5617667150 or 5651929511. E-mail post.asv-kassel@hsvv.hessen.de 28/08.

Open invitation to tender, deadline 18th August, 2008 for construction management of the 4.5 km El Carrús-Elche section in Alicante province on the high speed line to the east coast, including the 1,288 m Elche tunnel. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=160131-2008, OJ S 120, or contact ADIF, Madrid, fax +34 917005751. 27/08.

Open invitation to tender, deadline 16th July, 2008 for supply of directional control fans with a joint net power of 23 kN, including mounting frames for mounting the fans in pairs, commissioning and start-up, for the North Atlantic ocean tunnel on national road Rv 64 near Kristiansund. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=162535-2008, OJ S 121, or contact Statens vegvesen Region Central, Molde, tel. +47 81544040 or 91346388. E-mail firmapost-midt@vegvesen.no 27/08.

Open invitation to tender, deadline 4th August, 2008 for construction management for the 2.7 km Loiola-Herrera track dualling, including a 1,628 m tunnel, a 141 m in situ concrete box, the Herrera partially underground station and the Intxaurrondo underground station

Negotiated invitation to tender, deadline 27th June, 2008 for complementary geotechnical investigations for the 4 km Saverne tunnel on the Baudrecourt-Strasbourg high speed rail section, the second phase of the Paris-Strasbourg line.