On September 4th, 2023  the twelve largest and heaviest parts of the TBM - to be used to drive the tunnel for the new main water supply line in Oslo - were unloaded at Ormsundkaia  with the help of a 650 t crane: click here for the video. The elements of the machine - amongst which is the 123 t main drive - arrived by ship in Oslo from Germany,  were then loaded onto trailers and transported at night under police escort and supervision from the Public Roads Administration to the construction site at Stubberud. 

Now, the machine - 200 m long, 2000 t weight and over 7 m diameter - will be assembled before beginning to drive an 11-km-long tunnel from Stubberud to Huseby.   

The Oslo New Water Supply Project will provide the capital's residents with a reliable backup water supply. AF and Ghella are carrying out part of the project in a joint venture on behalf of Oslo kommune at Vann- og avløpsetaten (Oslovann). The Joint Venture is building the tunnel system for the distribution of drinking water from the water treatment plant at Huseby. The contract includes the construction of four large rock caverns, two clean water basins, a pumping station, and a ventilation station. AF Gruppen has also been awarded the contract to build the underground water treatment plant at Huseby. 

Two other TBMs - operated by Skanska - are already under way for the E5 Raw Water tunnel contract, including the 19-km long tunnel from the new water source, Holsfjorden, in Hole municipality to a new underground water treatment plant located at Huseby in the western area of Oslo. One TBM started from Holsfjorden in January 2023, the other started from Huseby in March 2023. The machines will meet under Lommedalen in 2025/2026.

For further information please click here and no/85 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://www.oslohavn.no,   https://www.ghella.com/en and https://afgruppen.no/. 37/23.