Page 5 - TunnelTalk Annual Review 2014

Underground a key driver of global infrastructure in 2014
Almost a quarter of the top 100 infrastructure projects in the world in 2014, as judged by a panel of experts in the construction, planning and financesectorsandfortheirscale,feasibility, complexity, innovation and impact upon society, could not be realised without the expertise of the underground construction industry. Several others that are early in the planning stages are also likely to have a significant element of tunnelling.
These projects that made it onto the prestigious KMPG Infrastructure Top 100 list in 2014 represent a global total of more than 220km of TBM-driven twin-running transportation tunnels, 22km of single bore TBM-driven tunnels, 28km of cut-and- cover alignment and 72km of drill+blast excavation for a total tunnelled length of some 562km.
Also included by the judging panel, that narrowed an initial 300 worldwide projects to the final 100, is the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) in London which opened in 2011 and earns its place on the list for its ability to support the skills needed to deliver the many UK tunnelling projects moving towards construction in the coming years, three of which make it onto the list along with projects in Canada, Brazil, Australia, India, Sweden,NewZealand,SouthAmericaand elsewhere (Table 1).
Noticeably absent in the 2014 list are projects in the USA, a country which the report estimates needs US$3.6 trillion spent
on its ageing road infrastructure by 2020. The USA, for which the East Side Access, MiamiPort Tunnel and California High Speed rail projects have featured on previous lists, iscategorised,forthepurposesofthe2014 report, as being an economic powerhouse, alongside China, India, Russia and Brazil. These are regions with large populations spread across wide geographies, which have significant infrastructure needs either to support rapid growth and urbanisation or, in the case of the USA, to fill in the gaps and rebuild decaying assets. The report states however that private sector funding issues are stalling the ability of these countries to drive infrastructure projects forward.
For the USA, groundbreaking on the LA Metro Purple Line in 2014 and a succession of CSO tunnels ensure future tunnelling activity. Large CSO projects are under way in Cleveland (Euclid Creek and Dugway tunnels, with five more planned in future phases), Indianapolis (Deep Connector Tunnel, with three more tunnels planned), Washington DC (Anacostia and Blue Plains tunnels) and St Louis (Lower and Middle Des Peres storage tunnel).
The report notes, that in the current economic climate, infrastructure owners are having to utilise financing structures that make better use of private capital. “Historically, economic powerhouses have used public money or some form of debt security issued by the state to fund developments. However, the scale of the required investment means that
Peter Kenyon, TunnelTalk government finance alone is insufficient. In
addition, public institutions lack the critical capacity of qualified people needed to deliver present day mega-projects.
“Whether the conditions exist [in the economic powerhouses] to attract international private capital is open to question. Current flows are often limited by strong domestic competition, a lack of transparent tenders and considerable restrictions on inward investment, with further fears over resource nationalism. As a result, there are fewer opportunities in these markets for international private investors to consider. This is an issue economic powerhouses need to address if they are serious about attracting international investment and expanding the role of the private sector and the use of public-private partnership PPP models.”
The report notes that in the USA, 66% of all transport infrastructure PPPs are concentrated in just five of its 50 states, but adds that interest, in the form of Canadian pension funds in particular, may help spark “further waves of domestic and international capital keen to back the resurgence of US infrastructure.”
Against this financial and funding backdrop, the problem of sustaining mega-projects is amply demonstrated by the long-running Sao Francisco River Irrigation Project in Brazil, which appears in this year’s Top-100 but is currently twice
table 1. Projects in the KPMG infrastructure top 100 report for 2014 that include an underground element
Project
region
tunnel element
US$ (bn)
Hinckley Point C Nuclear Power Station*
UK
2 x 3.3km intake tunnels + 1 x 2km outfall tunnel
27.0
High Speed 2 (rail)*
UK
56km twin-running TBM bored tunnels
84.4
Northern Line Extension (rail)*
UK
3.2km TBM running TBM tunnels + SCL crossover
1.6
A1 Autostrada (highway)*
Italy
Including 2.5km twin TBM Sparvo Tunnel
0.2
Liefkenshoek Freight Rail Connection
Belgium
6.5km twin bored tunnel + refurbishment of 1.2km Beveren Tunnel
1.0
Edmonton Valley LRT Stage 1 (metro)
Canada
500m tunnel section
1.6
Toronto Eglinton Crosstown LRT (metro)*
Canada
9.5km twin-running TBM bored tunnel
5.6
Northern Gateway Pipeline
Canada
1 x 6.5km tunnel + 1 x 6.6km tunnel
7.9
Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda highway
Nepal
3 x twin tube tunnels totalling 4.5km
0.4
Legacy Way (highway)*
Australia
4.6km twin tube TBM highway tunnel
1.4
WestConnex (highway)*
Australia
5km cut-and-cover Phase 1 + 15km twin bored tunnels Phase 2+3
10.7
North West Rail Link*
Australia
15km twin TBM running tunnels
7.7
Sao Francisco River Irrigation Project
Brazil
16 drill+blast tunnels totalling 53km
6.4
Sao Paulo Metro Line 6
Brazil
13.3km twin TBM running tunnel
4.0
Interceptor Sewage System
India
Various trenchless sewers, pumping stations, CSO interceptors
0.3
Delhi Metro (Phase III/IV)*
India
41km twin TBM running tunnels PIII; 103km PIV in design
2.3
Stockholm Metro expansion
Sweden
21km of metro extensions, underground lengths as yet unknown
3.9
Durango-Mazatlan Highway
Mexico
18km of mountain tunnels
2.2
Chaglla Hydro
Peru
1km diversion tunnel
1.2
Americo Vespucio Oriente Highway
Chile
9.3km double deck 3-lane highway tunnel (cut-and-cover)
1.1
Panama City Metro*
Panama
8km twin TBM running tunnel
2.0
Riyadh Metro*
Saudi Arabia
35.2km twin TBM running tunnels + 13.7km cut-and-cover
22.5
Auckland City Rail Link Project Plan*
New Zealand
Includes 3.4km of twin-tube TBM-bored tunnels
n/a
* TunnelTalk reference article
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GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
PREVIEW