32 km-long, 4.1 m-diameter gravity-flow connection through basalts with occasional dolerite dykes between future Mohale reservoir and recently completed Katse reservoir using TBMs from each end and lined with concrete segments. Intake end will utilise existing 5.3 m-diameter Wirth TBM ex delivery tunnel north of previous contract and second TBM is 4.7 m NFM ex-Ecuador. Both machines are double-shielded. Hexagonal lining segments manufactured at site. Advances of 750 m/month per machine anticipated. High and low level intake tunnels 200 m long joining 100 m-deep gate shaft. Drill/blast operations at both ends to prepare TBM launch chambers. 800 m-long access adit at intake end for muck tippler and conveyor. Commenced February 1998 for completion January 2003. Design and construction supervision consultants: LHTP, a joint venture of Consult 4, Lahmeyer and Mott MacDonald. Contractors: joint venture of Hochtief, Concor and Impregilo. March 1999. Payments of $1.25 million bribes during 1988 by a number of participating companies to a former executive of the project have been traced and are under investigation by the Maseru court. Sept 1999.

MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd (MyHSR) of Malaysia and Land Transport Authority (LTA)of Singapore have awarded the Joint Development Partnership (JDP)contract for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project to the consortium comprising WSP Engineering Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Mott MacDonald Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Ernst&Young Advisory Services Sdn Bhd.

The JDP will provide project management support and technical advice on HSR systems and operations. The JDP will also develop the technical and safety standards to be adopted for the project. In addition, it will assist the Joint Project Team (JPT) established between MyHSR and LTA with the preparation of

documents for the forthcoming tenders relating to the joint aspects of the project, such as the appointment of the AssetsCo and OpCo International. For further tenders on the project click my/21 and sg/28. Visit http://www.myhsr.com.my/ and https://www.lta.gov.sg. Tender Ref. HSR1601. 16/17.

http://www.myhsr.com.my/downloads/Joint%20Development%20Partner%20Contract%20Awarded%20for%20Kuala%20Lumpur%20-%20Singapore%20High%20Speed%20Rail%20Project.pdf

https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=bf7d8a1c-c7a9-479a-919c-8ad0ae8c396e

Twin tunnels, 500 m-long x 5 m-high x 5.6 m-wide under construction by Sunlight Engineering to link government offices and other major facilities using Efco traveller and formworks to achieve 22 m of box every 8 shifts at 2 cu m/manhour. Visit www.efco.com August 2000.  Detailed design worth $132 million now being carried out by Mott MacDonald plus Malaysian firms Sepakat Setia Perunding Sdn Bhd and Neuformation Architect for three more stations and 4.5 km of tunnels including a submerged tube crossing of the lake as part of phase 2. Visit www.mottmac.com 42/01.

Award of contract C01 to Mott MacDonald Ireland Ltd of Dublin for detailed design of 7.1 km-long stage 3 Radal-Flesland twin-track section of Bybanen light railway including six tunnels total length 2.85 km, eight tunnel portals, three railway bridges total length 260 m, seven stops, public transit terminal, depot and workshop area, and associated works. Construction start scheduled 2013. Further information from Ivar Ovretvedt at Bybanen in Bergen, tel +47 40007400. View development plan at www.bybanen-utbygging.no. Visit  http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=016943-2012. 03/12.

  Two lines to be built: north-south between Sto Ovido, Trinidad and Hosp S Joao with 3 km underground, and east-west between Mercado, Trinidad and Campanha, with 2.7 km underground. Concession signed with Metro do Porto and contract placed with Normetro. Civil works by jv of Soares da Costa, Impregilo and Soconstroi. Consultant: Geoconsult E-mail office@gcs.co.at contact F L Jansky. February 1999.   Arge Transmetro will use 8.71 m-diameter Herrenknecht EPB for 5.7 km twin-track extension in mixed loose and solid hard rock comprising 50% to 90% granite, commencing early-2000. Visit www.herrenknecht.com April 2000.   Kaiser Engineers providing construction management services to $1 billion light rail transit system in jv with Cinclus and Gibb. System will comprise four lines totalling 70 km route length with 7 km in tunnel and 66 stations of which 10 will be underground. Project completion is scheduled for 2005. Visit www.kaiserengineers.com for a full statement. May 2000.   Second Herrenknecht tunnel boring machine ordered by Metro do Porto to link the Salgueiros and Trindade stations under assembly for tunnelling start at summer 2002. Visit www.herrenknecht.com 45/01.  Mott MacDonald and Geodata of Italy have been appointed by Transmetro, a jv of Soares da Costa, Somague and Impregilo, to provide detailed design and construction supervision for all the tunnelling works, which comprise 7 km of bored tunnels lined with reinforced concrete segments for Lines C (2.3 km), S (4 km) and J (700 m). The team will also review and coordinate the design of the civil works with the mechanical, electrical and systems contractors to ensure compatibility and compliance of the works with international best practice. To cope with the varying ground conditions, ranging from massive fresh granite to decomposed and often loose weathered material, two Herrenknecht EPB tunnel boring machines of 8.7 m and 9 m-diameter will be used. Visit www.metro-porto.pt, www.mottmac.com, www.geodata.it or www.herrenknecht.com 09/02.Open call for tenders, deadline 21st January, 2008 for construction of the Estí¡dio do Dragí£o-Venda Nova section of the Gondomar line, including a 980 m tunnel. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=252962-2007, OJ S 208, or contact Metro do Porto, Porto, fax +361 225081001. E-mail geral@metro-porto.pt 44/07.The deadline for submission of tenders for construction of the Estí¡dio do Dragí£o-Venda Nova section of the Gondomar line, including a 980 m tunnel, has been extended to 4th March, 2008. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=305459-2007, OJ S 250, or contact Metro do Porto, Porto, fax +361 225081001. E-mail geral@metro-porto.pt 02/08.The eight candidates to construct the 6.5 km Estí¡dio do Dragí£o-Venda Nova section of the Gondomar line, including a 980 m tunnel, are Mota-Engil, Somague, Soares da Costa, Monte Adriano and Efacec; Lena, Abrantina and Bento Pedroso; Conduril and Tecnovia; Isolux Corsí¡n-Corviam, DTS (Domingos da Silva Teixeira) and Alexandre Barbosa Borges (ABB); Teixeira Duarte, OFM and Thales; Ramalho Rosa, FDO, Gabriel Couto and FCC; Zagope, Hagen and Siemens; and Edifer and Opway. Construction will take 21 months for opening in end 2010 or early 2011. 13/08.A consortium of Somague, Soares da Costa, Mota Engil, Efacec and Monte Adriano has been awarded the construction contract of the light rail line between Porto and Gondomar, which has an estimated investment of EUR97.5 million. The offer presented by this consortium is EUR10 million higher than the low bid submitted by one of the eight candidates that participated in the tendering, but the ministry of public works, transportation and communications justifies its decision saying that the selected consortium is the strongest. The Gondomar line will be 6,625 m long and serve ten stations, connecting the Dragí£o Stadium with Venda Nova. It includes a 980 m 65 sq m tunnel, between the future stations of Joí£o de Deus and Parque Nascente, that will be excavated using NATM (drill and blast as well as roadheader), and a 150 m cut-and-cover tunnel. Work will last 19 months. Visit www.somague.pt, www.soaresdacosta.pt and www.mota-engil.pt 36/08.

Mott MacDonald appointed by Ministry of Public Works to help implement $120 million scheme to upgrade municipal water supply and wastewater infrastructure in fifteen Romanian cities. Visit www.mottmac.com for further details. May 2000.  Studies underway for proposed EU-funded upgrading of water supply and sewerage systems in Iasi and Pascani and rehabilitation of facilities in Timisoara. Consultant's reports due by March, 2001 to be followed by preliminary design and contract documentation preparation. Visit www.halcrow.com July 2000.

Sistema Gals has won the tender to design the Orlovsky toll tunnel under the river Neva in St. Petersburg. The contract has a value of RUR57.2 million. The project includes two tunnels, each 1.6 km long, between Orlovskaya Ulitsa and Piskaryov Prospekt. A 24-hour traffic connection across the Neva will aim to ease traffic congestion around the centre and to allow more time to open the bridges for navigation. The cost of the project is estimated between RUR9.7 and RUR11.2 billion. Tenders for construction are awaited in 2006. Read E-News Weekly 15/2005. 48/05.Open call for bids with prequalification, deadline 30th November, 2007 for the design, construction, financing and operation of the approx. 940 m-long Orlovski road tunnel under the Neva river, Smolnaya and Sverdlovskaya embankments in St. Petersburg. The tunnel starts on the left bank in the central part of the city near Orlovskaya Street, crosses the Neva between Liteiny and Bolsheohtinsky bridges and exits between Piskarevsky Avenue and Shosse Revolutsii. The concession term for this PPP project will be 30 years starting from the concession agreement signature date. The successful bidder is expected to be announced on 9th June, 2008. Project advisors are Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the World Bank, Mott MacDonald and the Research and Design Institute of Regional Development and Transportation. Contact person for acceptance and keeping records of the incoming mail and for dispatch of replies and notices: Yulia Evgenjevna Dulskaya, senior specialist expert at the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, tel. +7 495 6269944, e-mail milovaaa@mintrans.ru. Contact persons at ZSD JSC to perform management and technical functions on behalf of the bid evaluation committee: Igor Alexandrovich Lukjanov and Evgenia Vitaljevna Khoroshavia, tel. +7 812 3803850, fax +7 812 3803851, e-mail office@wsd.spb.ru. Visit www.orlovtunnel.ru for more or e-mail office@orlovtunnel.ru. Read E-News Weekly 20/2007, 15/2005, 13/2004 & 32/2003. 39/07.

The following three consortia submitted technical and financial offers for a turnkey contract to design, build and equip Phase 1 of the Riyadh light metro: Consortium 1, leader Vinci Construction (France) with Siemens (Germany), Almabani General Contractors (Saudi Arabia), Consolidated Contractors Company (Saudi Arabia), Aecom (USA); Consortium 2, leader Bombardier (Canada) with Al Rajhi Holding Group (Saudi Arabia), YAPI Merkezi Insaat (Turkey), Obrascon Huarte Lain (Spain), Al Arrab Contracting Co (Saudi Arabia), Shibh Al Jazira Contracting Co (Saudi Arabia), GS Engineering and Construction (Korea), Freyssinet Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia), Serco Group (UK), Mott Macdonald (UK), Parsons Brinckerhoff Arabia (Saudi Arabia); Consortium 3, leader FCC Construccion SA (Spain) with Alstom Transport SA (France), Samsung C&T Corporation (Korea), Alpine (Austria), Strukton Civiel Projecten BV (The Netherlands), SETEC (France), Tecnica Y Proyectos (Spain). Visit www.arriyadh.net. 24/13.

  Together these two expressways will be 12 km in length with 9 km underground. Construction due to commence 2001 for completion of Kallang in 2005 and Paya Lebar in 2006. Fifteen companies have prequalified to tender for four contracts with a value US$500 million. Contract 421 is for design and construction of a tunnel from East Coast Parkway to Nicoll Highway crossing the Geylang river; contract 422 is for a tunnel from Nicoll Highway to Pan Island Expressway; contract 423 is for a tunnel from Pan Island Expressway to Paya Lebar Road crossing Pelton Canal; contract 424 is for a tunnel and depressed road with surface road from Paya Lebar Road to just north of the Bartley Road extension. More from www.lta.gov.sg/projects August 2000. Contractors shortlist includes overseas contractors Daewoo, Sato Kogyo, Dumez GTM, Penta-Ocean, Kumagai Gumi, Hyundai, Obayashi, Wayss & Freytag, and Impregilo. Local companies include Semb-Corp, Chew Eu Hock, L & M, Koh Brothers, Lum Chang and Econ Piling. Visit www.lta.gov.sg/projects Sept 2000. Contract 421 worth S$235 million secured by SembCorp Engineers and Constructors for the design, construction and completion of the 1.5 km tunnel from East Coast Parkway to Nicoll Highway. Cut-and-cover method. Visit www.lta.gov.sg 43/01. Contract 422 for the design, construction and completion of 1.64 km of tunnels from Nicoll Highway to the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) clinched by a jv of SembCorp Engineers and Constructors Pte Ltd and Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd. The tunnel will cross under Nicoll Highway, Mountbatten Road, Geylang Road, Sims Avenue and the PIE. Cut-and-cover method. Value of approximately $257 million. Visit www.gov.sg/lta 52/02. Contract 423 has been awarded by the Land Transport Authority to Samsung Corporation for the design, construction and completion of 2.96 km of tunnels from the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) to Ubi Road 2. The tunnels will be constructed by the cut-and-cover method and will run beneath the Pelton Canal and Airport Road, crossing Aljunied Road, Merpati Road and Paya Lebar Road. Value $364 million. Work to begin later this month for completion in February 2007. Visit www.secc.co.kr and www.lta.gov.sg 28/02.Contract 424 has been commissioned to Taisei of Japan for the design, construction and completion of 2.6 km of tunnels from Ubi Road 2 to Defu Lane 3. The tunnels will also be constructed in cut-and-cover, running beneath Airport Road, Paya Lebar Air Base before surfacing at Defu Lane 3. Value $251 million. The project is due to be completed in early 2007. Visit www.taisei.co.jp 28/02.Mott MacDonald has been appointed by contractor Samsung to provide full detailed design services for a £137 million underground section of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, as part of Contract 423 which comprises a 2.9 km tunnel, two ventilation buildings, five slip roads, two road bridges and an interchange. The 36 m-wide cut-and-cover tunnels will run below a 27 m-wide stormwater canal. Designs will be finalised in one year and the expressway is scheduled to be completed by 2005. Visit www.mottmac.com. 33/02.

Vinci-GTM with CKI and Daewoo to develop $1.7 billion connection between Pusan and Koje island to include 3.7 km-long tunnel and two 3.5 km-long bridges with approach roads under 40-year concession agreement, with $500 million provided by government. Six-year construction programme to start 2001. Visit www.groupe-vinci.com December 2000. Consortium of GTM, Cheung Hong, and Daewoo to commence $1.7 billion, 32 km-long link Pusan to Koje Island end-2001. Project includes 3.7 km-long road tunnel. Visit www.groupe-gtm.fr 17/01. The joint venture of Halcrow and Tunnel Engineering Consultants has been appointed technical advisor to Daewoo Construction, the contractor leading the consortium that will design, build, and operate the US$1.1 billion Busan-Geoje Fixed Link. To be completed in 2009, the link will provide an 8.2 km highway between the southern city of Busan and the island of Geoje. The project comprises a 3.4 km-long immersed tunnel located to a depth of 40 m. Visit www.halcrow.com and www.tec-tunnel.com 21/03.A team of Cowi and Daewoo Engineering Co. won a $24 million contract to design and supervise the construction of the $900 million bridge and tunnel link between Busan and Geoje island. The link includes a 3.4 km immersed tunnel, cut-and-cover portals and bored tunnel sections. Visit www.cowi.dk and www.dweng.co.kr 28/03.Mott MacDonald has been awarded a contract to assist Yooshin Engineering Corporation in supervising the construction of a USD1.6 billion fixed link from the Korean mainland near Busan to the Island of Geoje. The project will involve building two cable stayed bridges with main spans of 475 m and 230 m, and a 3.7 km-long immersed tube tunnel, with a total crossing length of 8.2 km. The rectangular dual two-lane undersea tunnel will be one of the longest and deepest in the world and will require extensive ground improvement. An existing small island will form the transition between the tunnel and the approach spans for the bridge section of the crossing. This project is due to be completed in December 2010. Visit www.mottmac.com and www.yooshin.co.kr/english/default.asp 35/05.