Page 6 - TunnelTalk Annual Review 2014

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TunnelTalk ANNUAL REVIEW 2014
www.TunnelTalk.com
over budget and only half built after seven years in construction.
Also in Brazil, the 15.9km Sao Paulo Line 6 Metro Extension, with 13.9km underground, is on the list and is the first metro PPP project in Brazil.
Canada and Australia are strongly represented, with Canada highlighted as a market that private investors would do well to target. Brad Watson, KPMG National Practice Infrastructure leader in Canada, said: “With a stable economy, transparent regulatory environment and established history of PPPs, Canada should prove an appealing destination for private finance. The public infrastructure gap in Canada is most acute at the municipal level where decades of underinvestment is straining the economic aspirations of cities.”
In the less developed and emerging economies, underground infrastructure is also driving their economic development.
In Panama, the first phase of the region’s first metro system is under way in Panama City, while in traffic-congested Santiago, Chile, the 9.3km-long three- lane double-deck cut-and-cover Americo Vespucio Oriente Tunnel will cut the current hour-long car journey to eight minutes.
In Mexico, completion of the spectacular 230km Durango-Mazatlan toll highway through the Sierra Madre mountains to replace a notorious section of mountain route known as the Devil’s Spine, required 115 tunnels for a total 18km to cut journeys from the ports of the Gulf of
Mexico across northern Mexico and into the USA from eight hours to three.
In the mountains of Nepal another of the 2014 Top 100 projects is construction of the Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda highway. Once complete, the 58km highway will cut travel times between the destinations by six and eight hours when compared to the 227km- and 133km-long alternatives.
In India, Delhi’s continuing effort to construct one of only three metro systems worldwide at present with more than 300 stations, is recognised. With Phases I and II of the Delhi Metro completed, construction is well under way on 140km of Phase III and planning is advanced on a 103km-long Phase IV. The judging panel of the list was impressed with the rate of construction so far, the “innovative procurement and strong project and contract management techniques”, and the ability to deliver on budget. “Ten years after its first line opened [in 2005], the US$2.3 billion Delhi Metro continues to expand, setting a shining example of how to carry out an effective public works program.”
Another major metro network to make it to the list is the Riyadh Metro which will build six lines from scratch for a total 176km with 35.2kmintwinTBMrunningtunnelsanda further13.7kmincut-and-coverexcavation.
A number of long distance road and railroad projects highlighted in the 2014 Top 100, in Africa, Russia and China, are also likely to incorporate underground sections that are as yet unspecified. n
References
United Kingdom
• UK advances underground nuclear facilities – TunnelTalk, October 2013
• HS2 announces TBM and procurement strategy – TunnelTalk, October 2014
• London Underground Northern Line design and contract award – TunnelTalk,July 2014
• TUCA Academy and UK training schemes in focus – TunnelTalk,August 2011
Canada
• Toronto awards Crosstown LRT eastern section – TunnelTalk, November 2013
Australia
• Sydney WestConnex prequalifers – TunnelTalk, October 2014
• First TBM launches for North West Rail Link – TunnelTalk, September 2014
• Final breakthrough for Brisbane traffic link – TunnelTalk, June 2013
Panama
• First TBM launches on Panama metro drive – TunnelTalk, February 2012
India
• Four more TBMs through on Delho Metro Phase III – TunnelTalk, November 2014
Italy
• Final breakthrough at Sparvo – TunnelTalk, July 2013
• Sparvo mega-TBM ready for reuse – Video – TunnelTalk, September 2014
Saudi Arabia
• Riyadh Metro moves into construction – TunnelTalk, July 2013
New Zealand
• NZ$2.8 billion Auckland rail link back on track – TunnelTalk, June 2013
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
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South America, Brazil www.dsiunderground.com.br
EMEA, Austria www.dywidag-systems.at