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.

Having operated in China since 2006 as a service company supporting its TBM guidance systems, VMT has now achieved the official status of a Trading Company. So, apart from servicing the 110 operating systems installed to date and offering measurement services and consultation, VMT now has the right to do trading business!

An Australian National Health and Medical Research Council report on road tunnel air quality has found that the M5 East tunnel in Sydney, Australia is amongst the most polluted tunnels in the world. This has led to concerns that it could pose health risks to commuters and people who live nearby, aggravating asthma, respiratory infection and possibly promoting cancers. The National Health and Medical Research Council said the 4 km-long M5 East tunnel was particularly congested, carrying 100,000 vehicles/day, and particularly long for an urban tunnel.

Atlas Copco has launched a new version of its popular Scaletec scaling rig giving operators a stronger and faster scaling tool for use in tunnels.

Arup, a global firm of designers, engineers, planners and business consultants is looking to source small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and black and minority ethnic companies (BMEs) to support its prequalification process for the Transport for London engineering and project management framework. Scope of work includes tunnel engineering and geotechnical engineering. Expressions of interest should be registered at www.competefor.com by 16.00 h on 12.12.2008. Visit www.arup.com. http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=GB003M54616-2008 51/08.

The TBM advancing the east tube of the Hallandsas tunnel in southwest Sweden will enter the unstable Molle Back zone towards the end of 2009, some 1 km ahead of its present position. In preparation, a freezing unit has been located 1.8 km inside the north portal, from where horizontal holes have been drilled around the periphery of the proposed alignment.

Mexico City, founded on what was once an island in the middle of a lake, is sinking at the rate of 10 cm (4 in) per year. Over the last 30 years, the city’s critical drainage lines have lost their slope, resulting in a 40% reduction in overall capacity. To remedy the problem the city is moving forward on the 62 km (39 mi) long Emisor Oriente sewer tunnel to drain additional water from the Valley of Mexico. The tunnel will be constructed using a total of six TBMs, including three 8.93 m (29.3 ft) diameter Robbins EPBMs, to be shipped to the jobsite by the end of 2009.

For several years, residents living close to the Laderhammeren and Hovringen treatment plants in Norway’s Trondheim municipality have complained about the odour. Serious measures are now demanded to resolve the situation once and for all, and these include investigations and proposals to reduce odour in the 7 km-long Hovringen sewage tunnel.

International Road Association (PIARC) has initiated a detailed review of the use Fixed Fire Fighting Systems (FFFS) following their 2008 report which acknowledges FFFS as a legitimate tunnel fire life safety system. This signals a relaxation of longstanding general opposition by PIARC to such systems.

The State Administration of Work Safety website reporting on the investigation of the Hangzhou subway collapse has cited poor supervision and lax management as the root cause of the incident. Main contractor China Railway Construction Co was subcontracting work to smaller firms and non-incorporated construction teams, and appears to have failed to oversee their performance. The official death toll is eight, but hope is fading for another 13 missing persons, despite the efforts of 400 rescue personnel and four search dogs.

NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has awarded a 5-year, $6.8 million (NZD) professional services contract to Transdyn, Inc. to design, build, and support a new advanced Traffic Management Software System to manage the New Zealand state highway network.

On Saturday, 15th November, a wide section of road over the alignment of the 48 km-long No. 1 line of Hangzhou metro construction on Fengqing Avenue in Xiaoshan district collapsed, creating a 75 m-long, 15 m-deep crater into which 11 vehicles fell. Five people are now confirmed dead, 19 were taken to hospital, and 16 are currently listed missing.

After five months of tunnelling, a 6.52 m-diameter Robbins EPBM working for Continental Engineering Corporation (CEC) and Soma JV has completed the first 1 km of the 5.3 km Udyog Bhawan-Green Park section of Delhi metro on September 29, 2008, holing through into the Race Course station box. Availability of over 90% contributed to advance rates of up to 19 rings/day. Electric drive motors allow the cutterhead to maintain rotation in the sticky, soft clays. A second Robbins EPBM is already underway boring the parallel tunnel. The tunnels are part of more than 120 km of new rail being built for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Click here and in/11. Visit www.delhimetrorail.com and www.robbinstbm.com 46/08

L-surF Services, a grouping of Ineris, SP, STUVA and VSH is running a workshop “New energy carriers in tunnels and underground installations” in Frankfurt, Germany on 20th November, 2008 for 40 participants. Visit www.lsurf-services.com 44/08.

“Those companies that invest in their brands during a recession do better than those who don’t.” “Parts of the western world will show flat or declining GNP growth in 2009, but this will be balanced by continued growth in cash-rich economies that now have to satisfy higher expectations of their populations, such as China and India.” “Digital media will grow faster than traditional media.” Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP, 30.10 2008 44/08

Norwegian Roads Administration Statens Vegvesen has awarded two-year contracts to four companies to conduct risk analyses to evaluate traffic safety for new road projects and new and existing tunnels across the whole of Norway. Successful bidders were Proactima of Stavanger, Ramboll of Drammen, Safetec Nordic of Trondheim, and Matrisk/HOJ Consultin of Brunnen. An option for up to two years extension is built into the agreements. Contact SV gry.rogstad@vegvesen.no tel +47 2207 3681. 44/08.