Construction of first line Fiera-Staveco (6 km) will be staggered with construction of first section Fiera-Stazione Centrale (3.5 km), to cost €171 million, and then Stazione Centrale-Staveco. Italian government to finance 60% and city 40%. TBM to bore double-track tunnel starting from the Michelino car park at the line head in Fiera and exiting in Piazza XX Settembre near the central station where connection to the high speed line will be possible. Work to commence in spring 2004. 49/02.A joint venture headed by Geodata, with Tecnicoop, Siteco, Policreo and Ineco as partners, won the tender to carry out the final design of Phase 1 of the metrotram in Bologna, offering a discount of EUR625,000, or 25% less than the tender estimate of EUR2.5 million. The contract is for the final design of the section running from the central railway station to Maggiore Hospital and updating the final design carried out by the city of Bologna for the 3.5 km section from Fiera Michelino to the central railway station. Visit www.geodata.it, www.tecnicoop.it, www.policreo.it and www.ineco.esThe most challenging problem is the tunnel that runs from Fiera Michelino to Maggiore Hospital, which is also the costliest part of the project. For that section, a single tube tunnel solution has been preferred under Indipendenza Street and Bassi Street, with a curve radius of just 35 metres. The proposed technical solution envisages in particular to reuse the underpass at Maggiore Square as access ramp to the stop there so that disrupting excavation works will be partly avoided in a central part of the city. In addition to the benefit of the existing underpass, Maggiore Square station will not have platforms placed in front of each other but one in Indipendenza Street and another in Bassi Street, both before the sharp bend to allow trainsets to negotiate the bend slowly without reducing running times. 36/07.