Underground space development,
The ITA Tunnelling Awards 2016: Highlight on category “Major Project of the year with a budget over €500m”
Introducing 4 remarkable projects:
Lausanne, 30th of August 2016.- The ITA Tunnelling Awards is a prestigious competition which intends to identify outstanding achievements in the field of tunneling and underground space development, and provide international recognition to these remarkable contributions. This second edition is hosted in Singapore, the 10th & 11th November and includes 9 categories*.
The first category in this worldwide competition: “Major Tunnelling Project of the Year – over 500M€” is composed of large-scale infrastructure projects. In 2015, the “Eurasia Tunnel Project” was awarded in this category. This year, among 13 projects received for this category, four caught the attention of the panel of judges:
– WAN CHAI BYPASS AND ISLAND EASTERN CORRIDOR LINK – CAUSEWAY BAY TYPHOON SHELTER SECTION – application from Hong-Kong
Central, Causeway Bay and Wan Chai lie in the heart of Hong Kong and are heavily trafficked. Hence there is a compelling need to provide a new trunk road to relieve the existing traffic congestion and cater for the anticipated traffic growth. The CWB expressway – a 4.5km dual 3-lane “Central – Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link (CWB)” will allow relieving the congestion between the east-west along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island and coping with predicted traffic.
Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter Section, as part of the CWB project, mainly comprises construction of approximately 750m of tunnel under the sea-bed between the ex-Wan Chai Public Cargo Working Area (ex-PCWA) and the east breakwater of Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter (CBTS).
The construction of this 750m tunnel under the sea-bed took into account the geographic and spatial constraints and operational requirement of the existing facilities. Different construction techniques have been adopted, including “Cut-and-cover” through temporary reclamation for the section under ex-PCWA and CBTS; and “drill-and-break” for the section (The Mined Tunnel) underneath the existing Cross Harbour Tunnel (CHT).
• KLANG VALLEY MASS RAPID TRANSIT – SBK LINE – application from Malaysia
In Malaysia, Klang Valley (which includes Kuala Lumpur and adjoining cities and towns from the state of Selangor) is home to some seven million people, with an expected increase to 10 million by 2020. This translates to about 18 million trips a day in the Klang Valley which, using private vehicles, would cause all roads in the Klang Valley to be gridlocked throughout the day.
With a vision to make Kuala Lumpur move up the notch to settle amongst the 20 top most liveable cities in the world, the government of Malaysia engaged into the first Mass Rapid Transit project: a modern urban rail that will serve people of the greater Kuala Lumpur. The Mass Rapid Transit, together with the existing urban rail network, will form the backbone of the public transport system in the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley region.
The Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) Project involves the construction of a rail-based public transport network comprising three lines (Two new and the previous existing one).
The first line to be implemented is the 51km Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line (SBK Line). Construction of the line began on 8 July 2011. The Sungai Buloh – Serdang – Putrajaya line (SSP line) will be the second MRT line to be developed.
• SINGAPORE POWER CROSS – ISLAND CABLE TUNNEL PROJECT – application from Singapore
Singapore Power (SP) owns and operates Singapore’s electricity and gas transmission and distribution businesses catering to 1.4 million industrial, commercial and domestic customers. To ensure continual reliable, secure and quality power supply and meeting future demand, SP engaged into a major tunnel infrastructure criss-crossing the island nation North-South and East-West.
The average 60m deep, 35km long tunnel will house the 400kV and 230kV transmission cable to overcome the existing congestion of underground space and utility services where it is no longer feasible to install multiple transmission cables over long distances by conventional direct burial. Once completed, the tunnels will enable an efficient and reliable electricity network, faster maintenance and replacement of cables thereby contributing to economic competitiveness and ensuring better quality of life for all.
• THE NEW GUANJIAO TUNNEL ON QINGHAI-TIBET RAILWAY – application from China
The New Guanjiao Tunnel is a key project of the second line of Xining-Golmud section of Qinghai-Tibet Railway with a total length of 32.690km. The project aims to address the problems of difficult operation and low efficiency where the existing railway climbs over Mount Qinghai Nanshan. The tunnel runs between Tianpeng station and Chahannuo station within the Territory of Tianjun County and Wulan County of the Qinghai province. Construction began on 6th November, 2007 and the tunnel was opened to revenue service on 28th December, 2014.
It is the first time that a tunnel of over 30 km length is built in an area of over 3000m elevation with complex geological conditions due to magmatic rock, sedimentary rock and metamorphic rock. The new tunnel, a two-set single-track tunnel, operates with freight and passenger electrified railway with a design speed of 160km/h, double-block ballastless track, seamless rail, rigid suspension catenary, and four-aspect automatic block signal system. The facilities include a 550m long emergency rescue station in the middle of the tunnel, together with 85 cross passages outside the emergency rescue station, for operation safety.
*Major Tunnelling Project of the Year - over €500m / Tunnelling Project of the Year - between €50m and €500m
Outstanding Tunnelling Project of the Year - up to €50m / Renovation-Upgrading project of the Year
Technical Innovation of the Year / Environmental Initiative of the Year / Safety Initiative of the Year / Innovative Use of Underground Space / Young Tunneller of the Year
About the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association:
The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) is a non-profit and non-governmental international organization, which promotes the use of underground space for a solution to sustainable development. Founded in 1974 and operating out of Lausanne, Switzerland, ITA currently associates 73 Member Nations, 300 affiliated members, 17 Prime Sponsors and 60 supporters, as well as individual members.
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