Paris, 7 July 2021–The TELT board of directors, which met today online between Rome and Paris, has given the go-ahead for the signing of contracts for the construction of the base tunnel in France. The construction sites that, at the peak of the work will employ five tunnel boring machines, represent an investment of more than €3 billion, co-financed by Europe, Italy and France for the excavation of 80% of the Lyon-Turin base tunnel.
The railway tunnel under the Alps between France and Italy will be one of the longest in the world: 57.5 km in two separate tubes, to keep separate the flow of trains in both directions and ensure complete safety, for a total of 115 km of tunnels. In the coming months, the Italian lot, worth approximately €1 billion, will see the excavation of the tunnel that will emerge at Susa (Turin).The Lyon-Turin railway line represents the primary section of the Mediterranean Corridor, the TEN-T European rail network axis linking the Iberian Peninsula to Eastern Europe, and will make it possible to cross the Alps at a plain speed (220 km/h for passengers and 120 km/h for freight). Thanks to this railway line, over 1 million lorries will no longer be present on Alpine roads, with significant environmental and economic benefits.
This project is part of the modern and efficient railway corridors being set up at the behest of the EU to reduce road transport and C02emissions: it is fully in line with the objectives of the Green Deal. To date, a total of 30 km of tunnels have been excavated. This represents more than 18% of the total 162 km planned for the project. This complex machine comprises two parallel tunnels, four access adits and 204 safety bypasses. 113 km of exploratory surveys and core drilling in Italy and France have also been carried out. Environmental controls in the construction site areas are undertaken constantly, with daily measurements of 135 parameters (from water and air quality to the protection of flora and fauna, etc.).
At the peak of the work, the project will employ approximately 8000 direct and indirect workers. The tender process and awards criteria.
The tender process has taken place in the context of the pandemic, which has imposed restrictions on travel, face-to-face meetings and on accessibility to the construction sites. However, the IT equipment available ensured the efficiency and confidentiality required to deal with the complexity of the bids analysed (almost 30,000 documents were received), which between June 2020 and May 2021 were evaluated by a team of 70 people, including the work management and TELT executives in 138 meetings of negotiations with the candidate companies. In the evaluations, the economic criterion was flanked by a technical criterion that first of all assessed the quality of the proposed solutions: the enterprise consortia presented efficient programmes from the point of view of implementation time, environmental protection and employment inclusion. In particular, the companies made an important effort with regard to the inclusion of people with work difficulties, proposing more than double the number of hours of the basic requirement for this quota of employees.
On the environmental front, ad hoc solutions and measures have been proposed to ensure the environmental sustainability of construction sites, with dedicated teams and precise monitoring of environmental and social indicators. The companies, all of which are certified from an energy and environmental point of view, have made a special commitment to environmental protection during the works and to the use of clean energy and biofuels, with nearly 100% green energy construction sites.
THE LOTS AND WINNING ENTERPRISE CONSORTIA
Lot 1 -22 km of tunnel between Villarodin-Bourget/Modane and Italy –EIFFAGE Génie Civil (group head) / SPIE BATIGNOLLES / GHELLA / COGEIS consortium.
The companies will build the 22 km stretch of tunnel between the existing Villarodin-Bourget/Modane tunnel and Italy. The tunnels will be excavated in approximately 72 months: towards Turin with the use of two tunnel boring machines and towards Lyon with the traditional method (hydraulic breaker and/or explosive). The value of this lot is €1.47 billion. The Modane safety site, the communication branches located every 333 metres between the two tunnels, necessary for maintenance and safety, and all the niches and transverse tunnels for operation and safety, will also be realised in this phase. The territories of the municipalities of Villarodin-Bourget, Modane, Avrieux and Aussoiswill be those involved.
Lot 2 -23 km of tunnel between Saint-Martin-la-Porte/La Praz and Modane –VINCI Construction Grands Projets (group head) / DODIN CAMPENON BERNARD / VINCI Construction France TP Lyon / WeBuild consortium
Excavation continues along the 10-km-long section, already completed at Saint-Martin-la-Porte, towards Italy. All 23 km of the twin-tube between Saint-Martin-la-Porte, La Prazand Modane will be excavated. The work will be carried out using three tunnel boring machines, while the more geologically complex sections will be excavated using traditional methods (hydraulic breaker and/or explosives). Approximately 65 months of work are planned for a total spend of €1.43 billion. The territories of the municipalities of Saint-Martin-la-Porte, Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, Orelle, Saint André, Villargondran and Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis will be involved. The La Praz safety site, communication branches every 333 metres between tunnels, technical rooms, niches and tunnels for operation and safety will also to be built in this lot.
Lot 3 -3 km of tunnel between Saint-Julien-Montdenis and Saint-Martin-la-Porte –IMPLENIA Suisse (group head) /IMPLENIA France / NGE / ITINERA / RIZZANI de ECCHER consortium
This is the section of tunnel between the French entrance portal at Saint-Julien-Montdenis and Saint-Martin-la-Porte. Excavation in this section will be carried out using the traditional method, that is, with a hydraulic breaker and/or explosives.
There are also works planned on the Villard-Clément platform between the artificial tunnel to the west (the cut and cover tunnel, already built) and the natural entrance of the tunnel into the mountain to the east. In addition, there will be communication branches every 333 metres between the two tunnels, technical rooms and niches for operation and safety. This lot is worth €228 million and will take approximately 70 months to complete.
STATEMENTS
European Commissioner for Transport, AdinaVălean: "Today’s decision to award three contracts worth €3 billion is a significant step towards completing the Lyon-Turin rail connection. It will bridge a key missing link between France and Italy and help shift large volumes of cross-border traffic from road to rail. But it is more than a bi-national project, as it will become the nexus connecting the Iberian Peninsula to the Eastern part of the European Union. The Lyon-Turin rail connection is a long-awaited, well-thought-out, and highly emblematic European project, contributing to the objectives of the European Green Deal.
"European Coordinator for the Mediterranean Corridor, Iveta Radičová: “Today’s decision by the TELT Board is of utmost importance to the Lyon-Turin project, the Mediterranean Core Network Corridor and the overall functioning of the TEN-T network in Europe. By building modern railway infrastructure, it contributes to the European Green Deal and recovery after pandemic. The positive vote on three contracts related to the construction of the base tunnel on the French territory, with a value of over 3 billion euros, is a decisive step forward towards the timely completion of the project”.
TELT President, Hubert du Mesnil:“The award of these three major contracts represents a decisive step in the construction of the Lyon-Turin base tunnel. It is fully consistent with the objectives of promotion of rail transport, supported by the European Union and it contributes to the policies led by our two States, France and Italy, for the ecological transition and economic recovery. TELT, the company in charge of managing this major project, is pleased to be able to rely on the skills and commitment of our companies and their staff.”
TELT General Director, Mario Virano:“The milestone reached today is extremely important for at least two reasons: firstly, because just two years ago the project, even though it was moving forward, seemed at risk of being stopped; and secondly, because it is a major achievement to have completed the crucial part of the tender process in the midst of the pandemic. We therefore thank the staff of TELT, the project management and the candidate companies for their tremendous efforts. Today's awards will quickly translate into work on the construction sites and already generate the economic development for the territories to which the Italian and French governments have committed themselves. And all under the banner of sustainability, a fundamental element that has been a significant feature of the calls for tender, to which the candidate groups have responded with equally fundamental proposals.
I consider the number and quality of the companies that have taken part in the tenders to be a success. They represent the best that the sector's business has to offer at international level, with 21 companies from 4 countries taking part. Our appreciation goes not only to the winning companies, but also to the entire range of candidates. All this has been possible thanks to the strong support of the European Commission, through the Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean, the Coordinator of the Mediterranean Corridor Iveta Radicova, CINEA, and DG Move, who have given us their support in finding balanced solutions for the renegotiation of the Grant Agreement, of which we are respecting the milestones despite the pandemic. As of today, TELT will focus its efforts on concluding the tender procedures concerning the Italian lot and then open the new chapter of the technology tenders”.
TELT-Tunnel Euralpin Lyon Turin, is the company responsible for the construction and operation of the cross-border section of the railway link between Lyon and Turin. It is 50% owned by Italy and by France through Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) and the French Ministry of Economy and Finance.
For further on the project and on the tenders please click fr/11 and it/80 for tunnelbuilder archive for further information please visit the TELT website http://www.telt-sas.com/en/telt-homepage/
