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.

ANAS has published updated guidelines for safety in Italian road tunnels design, with more information about Italian Risk Analysis Method and guidelines about new and existing tunnels. For the Italian text, click here. Visit www.lestradedellinformazione.it. 03/10.

Korea Mould supplies high quality segment lining products for the world’s tunnelling industry and a range of similar products for railway, pipejacking, spun concrete and coastal defence purposes. In recent years, the company has delivered tunnel segment moulds to some of the most prestigious projects in Turkey, the Middle East and South East Asia, and Australia. These projects include metro, sewer, water and rail tunnels by renowned contractors. For our profile of this dependable, high-quality supplier, click on their logo on the right of this page. 03/10.

Petrobras has already contracted for a 6 m-diameter tunnelling machine in Germany for the excavation of the underground portion of the 98 km-long Gastau gas pipeline linking the natural gas treatment unit at Caraguatatuba (SP), responsible for receiving future gas volumes from the Santos Basin, with the municipality of Taubaté, on the Sâo Paulo high plain.

The alignment and length of Norway’s Jondal tunnel has finally been decided. The tunnel will be 9,970 m-long and will run through Kvinnherad and Jondal municipalities. The project is on a three year timeline. For more visit tunnelbuilder archive no/114. 02/10.

The IPS group would like to extend best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all our clients and personnel. As we embark on our 22nd year in business as an independent and privately owned company, goodwill and the personal touch are important to IPS. It is clear that our approach has been welcomed by many clients. In 2010 the IPS Group aims to continue the tradition of close cooperation and support we have provided over the years, Watch out for the many new and exciting ventures we intend to introduce to keep our unique service out in front! Best regards and wishes for 2010 from all at IPS Group, the power behind www.tunneljobs.com. 01/10.

ANAS has approved the design for A3 Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway, km 148,800 - 153,400 section, between Fossino tunnel and Laino Borgo exit in Cosenza and Potenza provinces at the Basilicata and Calabria border. The section includes four viaducts and Fossino tunnel (1,584 m/1,596 m), which will be completely refurbished. Visit www.stradeanas.it. 01/10

The project was subcontracted to SELI by JV Salini Costruttori – Maire Engineering in early 2008 for a total of EUR50 million and includes the construction of 3 km-long twin tunnels lined with 35 cm-thick precast concrete segments in a 6+1 Universal design arrangement. Two EPB TBMs, designed by SELI and built by Herrenknecht, are in use under very high EPB pressure of 3-4 bars, backed up by Continental tunnel conveyors and vertical conveyor.

As the only Italian exhibition dedicated exclusively to the tunnelling industry, Intertunnel is drawing some of the great names to Torino for 8-10th June, 2010. Palazzoli will be showing its tunnel lighting and electrical systems, all with a strong focus on fire safety. Mapei will concentrate on its tunnel concrete additive range and specialized materials for construction. The Robbins Company will showcase its recent successes in China at Guangzhou metro and Pinglu water diversion tunnel on the Yellow River project, and pending supply of two 6.2 m-diameter EPRs to Xi'an metro. The latest addition to the list of exhibitors is tunnel lighting systems supplier GIFAS Elettromateriale. For more show details contact marcela.soukupova@mackbrooks.co.uk. 51/09.

The Dakmi 4 hydro plant project in Vietnam experienced unforeseen severe rock conditions near the portal of the 3.37 km-long tailrace tunnel, requiring the driving of a 195 m-long temporary access adit to open up two faces in better ground. The contractor has taken delivery of two Sandvik DT820 to carry out the extra drilling and rockbolting duties, as well as to get the project back on schedule.

At the beginning of April, 2009, the last 40 m of the Hedinsfjardargong tunnel between Ólafsfjördur and Siglufjördur in north Iceland was blasted open. The tunnel will shorten the distance between the two towns to 15 km. Currently, residents have to choose between the 62 km road across Lágheidi mountain, which is closed in winter, and the 234 km road across Öxnadalsheidi mountain. The EUR 42 million tunnel project, undertaken by Háfell ehf. in cooperation with Czech company Metrostav, has been delayed by six months and is now scheduled to open in June, 2010. Click is/19 and visit www.metrostav.cz www.hafell.is and http://vgwww.vegagerdin.is/hedinsfjardargong.nsf. 52/09.

On 04.12.2009, the Consortium Salerno-Reggio Calabria, composed of Impregilo and Condotte, broke through the EUR105 million, 2.5 km-long Barritteri tunnel, on the A3 Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway. The tunnel is part of the EUR913 million, 30 km-long lot between Scilla and Gioia Tauro, which includes 13 tunnels of total length 15 km. The Barritteri tunnel comprises two tunnels in series, separated by a window of about 70 m. Visit www.impregilo.it and www.condotte.com. For more on the project, click it/46. 52/09.

The fourth international symposium on tunnel safety and security, ISTSS, will take place in Frankfurt, Germany from 17-19th March, 2010. Online registration is now available, with early bird registration until 1st February. The venue will accommodate 350 delegates, so book now to be sure! Visit www.istss.se or contact fredrik.rosen@sp.se. 49/09.

In 2007, Attiko Metro of Athens awarded the EUR958 million contract for design, construction and commissioning of the 9.5 km Thessaloniki metro to an Italian-Greek JV composed of Aegek, Impregilo, Ansaldo trasporti Spa, Ansaldo Bresa Spa and Seli SpA. The new metro line will run at a maximum depth of 27 m from the new railway station in the west of the city to Nea Elvetia

Cossi Costruzioni SpA will complete construction of the 1.2 km single-tube Faver tunnel on the SS 612 bypass in Val di Cembra in March, 2010. A ventilation and emergency escape duct originally planned as a concrete structure, will now be fabricated in 8-10/10 steel plate. This will be coated on one side with Firemaster Firebarrier 135 supplied by Thermal Ceramics Italiana to provide two hours hydrocarbon fire curve (1,100 degrees C) resistance. The thickness of plaster has been calculated using test data from a series of experiments. The lightness of the final structure will speed erection and provide significant savings in support and anchoring. The choice of fire protection engineering reflects good experience on an earlier Cossi construction project on the same highway, the 855 m-long Verla di Giovo tunnel.

To be held in Shanghai, China on 04-05.03.2010, the World Tunnel Congress China 2010 promises to be an interesting event. Co-organized by Beijing Jiaotong University and H&Z Industry Media Group, and supported by China Civil Engineering Society, the congress will be chaired by Wang Mengshu, deputy chief engineer of China Railway Tunnelling Group. Discussion will cover technology and market trends, focusing on subsea tunnel projects such as Dalian, Xiazhang and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau. More from Hoby Lee, tel +86 21 5101-3231, fax –6269, e-mail hoby.lee@hnzmedia.com. 48/09.