Brazil prequalifiers for first immersed link
19 Mar 2014
Peter Kenyon, TunnelTalk
- Seven internationals are among the 18 companies prequalified to construct Brazil's first ever immersed tunnel.
- The US$800 million 1.7km link - 600m of which will be constructed by sinking six precast concrete elements to a depth of 21m below the water surface - will connect the municipalities of Santos and Guarujá on opposite sides of a sea channel that leads further inland to Brazil's most important Atlantic shipping port. The contract will be let on a concessionary basis, with part funding from the Inter-American Development Bank, over a period of 20-30 years. The construction schedule is 44 months.
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Santos and Guarujá lie on Brazil's Atlantic coast
- Royal HaskoningDHV and Witteveen & Bos of Holland, working together in partnership as Tunnel Engineering Consultants (TEC), have been leading the design process under a €5 million contract from project owner Dersa, the Brazilian road infrastructure agency. The partnership is involved in immersed tunnel projects all over the world including the 19km Fehmarnbelt link between Germany and Denmark, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Link in China (6km) and the Coatzacoalcos tunnel in Mexico (1.5km).
- Design of the Brazilian link calls for 6 x 35m wide elements to incorporate six lanes of traffic separated by a central section for cyclists and pedestrians. Fabrication of the precast concrete elements will be in a dry dock located in Guarujá.
- Following a call for expressions of interest in December last year (2013), Dersa has announced details of five consortia that will now move on to a second stage of prequalification that will examine each group's implementation methodology. The consortia are:
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Santos-Guarujá immersed tunnel virtual drive through
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• Tunnel Consortium Santos-Guarujá, comprising
Norberto Odebrecht (Brazil, leader); Queiroz
Galvão SA (Brazil); OAS SA (Brazil); Strukton Civiel
(Holland)
• Tunnel Construction Consortium Santos-Guarujá,
comprising Camargo Corrêa SA (Brazil, leader);
Ferrovial Agroman (Spain); Carioca Christiani-
Nielsen SA (Brazil)
• The Submerged Tunnel Consortium, comprising
Andrade Gutierrez (Brazil, leader); CR Almeida SA
(Brazil); Daewoo Engineering and Construction
(Korea); OHL (Spain)
• The Submerged Crossing Consortium, comprising
Constran SA (Brazil, leader); Mendes JR (Brazil);
Salini Impregilo (Italy); Grandi Lavori Fincosit (Italy)
• Consortium Tunnel Santos-Guarujá, comprising Construcap CCPS; FCC (Spain); Encalso Construction (Brazil)
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Six lanes of traffic and a central cycling lane
- The project was planned initially as a US$500 million bridge, but was confirmed by Dersa as a tunnel in 2013 following consultations with Royal Haskoning and other Dutch experts, as well as pressure from the Brazilian Tunnelling Society, who convinced local authorities that an immersed link was feasible. There were also major concerns about the effect a bridge would have on the landscape.
- The 60km/hr undersea crossing, once completed, will save a road journey of 43km, and reduce travelling time to one minute. Dersa hopes that construction can begin towards the end of 2014.
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Fehmarn Link submits for German approval - TunnelTalk, September 2013
Hong Kong awards Zuhai-Macau link - TunnelTalk, September 2013
Citybanan starts complex element sinking operation - TunnelTalk, May 2013
Midtown immersed tunnel contract awarded in Virginia - TunnelTalk, December 2011
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