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.

 The French, Italian and Swiss operators of the Frejus, Grand Saint Bernard, Mont Blanc and Gotthard tunnels met on 3rd and 4th May, 2007 at the Mont Blanc tunnel for the second round table of the European single-tube Alpine tunnel operators, an initiative first held in 2005 at the Frejus tunnel.

This year has been the opportunity to deal with the topic of the "mobile fire in tunnel", that is the presence of smoke on a moving vehicle, and the measures that must be adopted to reduce the consequences and preserve the physical integrity of road users. Prof. Jean-Claude Martin of the University of Lausanne presented his work on the analysis of the failure of more than 20 turbo compressor engines in the Gotthard tunnel and described the causes and consequences.

The main lesson drawn by operators is the absolute necessity to stop the vehicle and switch off the engine as soon as the first signs of smoke or fire appear. In this respect, the operators of the Frejus, Grand Saint Bernard and Mont Blanc tunnels decided to feed Prof. Martin's work with data about their own tunnel and make the results available to administrative authorities and road hauliers.

During the second day, operators presented the technologically most advanced and innovative systems. A visit to the Sorreley-Meysattaz tunnel, near Aosta, was organised. This tunnel is used for safety drills, including fire-fighting exercises in confined space.

All participants agreed both about the importance of this meeting and the need to pursue together the search for technological and procedural solutions, by overcoming national differences that still exist. They also shared the need for coordinated and homogeneous communication on the behaviour that drivers have to follow when driving through their tunnels, since the best safety results can be obtained but with the active collaboration of all the involved players. The next round table is scheduled for 2008 at the Grand Saint Bernard or Gotthard tunnel. Visit www.sitaf.it, www.tunnelmb.com, www.gotthard-strassentunnel.ch and www.sftrf.fr.