Odebrecht Readies Wirth Double Shield TBM in Ecuador - ec/18The San Francisco hydroelectric power project is located 15 km east of the town of Banos on the Pastaza river in central Ecuador. When complete the project will generate 230 MW of electrical power. Construction commenced in December, 2003 and, as of March, 2005 the underground powerhouse has been excavated along with the cable shaft and penstock pilot raise. The powerhouse was excavated using conventional drill and blast equipment with the cable shaft and penstock being driven using Alimak raise climbers.The largest excavation on the project is the 11.3 km headrace tunnel, which will utilize a Wirth 7 m-diameter double shield TBM. This machine is now in the process of being moved through the construction adit to the headrace tunnel. The actual operation of the TBM will be by SELI under the supervision of Odebrecht. Project manager on site is Jose Santos jsantos@odebrecht.com and production manager is Afranio de Oliviera. Visit www.wirth-europe.com and www.selitunnel.com Pictures by Jim Byrne, QA Photos jim@qaphotos.co.uk 10/05. Underground powerhouse, completion of excavation Wirth TBM at night just prior to launch Odebrecht managers and engineers with Wirth TBM just prior to launch