Lausanne,
10th of June 2015
From
May 22nd to 28th in Dubrovnik, Croatia, the International Tunnelling and
Underground Space Association held its 41st General Assembly along with the
2015 World Tunnel Congress, co-organised with the Croatian Association for
Tunnels and Underground Structures. This international event, widely recognised
among tunnelling professionals and experts, recorded more than 1.550
participants, including attendees and exhibitors. 54 Member Nations of the
Association, out of 73, were present. The attention was this year focused on
the promotion of tunnelling in the South-East Europe Region, represented by the
13 emissaries of its countries. Many topics have been addressed during this
week, with 390 technical presentations or posters, sessions on technical
innovation conducted by ITA Tech and a workshop on « Aging tunnels – safety in
operation during refurbishment », at the occasion of the 10th anniversary of
ITA COSUF.
The
2015 WTC also aimed at illustrating the importance of tunnelling in
counteracting problems due to traffic congestion, flooding, and transportation,
in order to face the climate change challenge. Such ambitions were notably
asserted through the Opening Ceremony on Monday, May 25th, during which ITA’s
President Soren Degn Eskesen, as well as eminent technical experts and Croatian
political personalities such as Andro Vlahusic, Mayor of Dubrovnik, and Nikola
Dobroslavic, Head of Dubrovnik – Neretva County, expressed the important of
tunnels in urban development plans, notably in the booming Croatia. A good
occasion as well for ITA to recall its 7 strategic mid-term goals, in order to
develop the tunnelling industry.
2015
WTC, ITA’s General Assembly: a place to reassert ITA’s strategic plan
Last
year in Brazil, in the framework of the 2014 WTC, ITA announced its strategy
for 2014-2016. The Association took benefit of its 41st General Assembly on May
24th 2015, to reassert its 7 goals, that consist into:
1. Consolidating ITA’s relations with new
Member Nations (Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Malaysia, UAE, Qatar…). Such objective will
be concretized through a solid programme of visits and a strong support of the
Association when it comes to organise Member Nation Tunnelling Events.
2. Improving Communication with ITA’s
Working Groups and Committees. In this aim, the latter regularly send status
reports to the Association, according to a standard process structured by ITA.
Working Groups will also be tightly involved in the preparation and the
planning of ITA-CET training courses.
3. Expanding ITA’s relations with
industrial actors, thanks to an in depth and updated knowledge of the
tunnelling and underground market. To meet this goal, ITA has set up a tunnel
market forecast statistics programme. Every three years, visits to all existing
Prime Sponsors with industry experts are also organised. Between 2014 and 2015,
already 10 Prime sponsors have been visited. Besides, ITA plans to integrate 4
new Prime sponsors and 8 new supporters by 2016. For now, 3 now Prime Sponsors
have decided to give support to the Association: Rio Tinto, CRCHI, Geoconsult.
4. Encouraging further Knowledge Sharing
through Education and Training. The share of expertise and good practices is a
genuine strength for ITA. In this regards, since last year, the Association has
organized 8 training sessions. The Association is also working to implement, on
an ongoing basis, regular e-learning sessions and webinars. As well, ITA-CET
has decided to send out themed newsletters twice a year, in order to intensify
communication about its activities.
5. Creating and Developing ITA Young
Members Group : After the creation of the Young Member Group, ITA strives to
encourage young people to participate in World Tunnel Congresses by offering
them particularly attractive rates for the Dubrovnik and San Francisco WTC. The
Association also tends to incite younger members to participate to regional
Member Nation Events. Special events have notably been organized in UAE, Greece
and in the United Kingdom
6. Further enhancing the awareness of
major stakeholders, including city governments, for tunnelling and underground
space stakes.. ITA through its committee on undergrouns space ITACUS is working
actively with the ISOCARP (International Association of City and Regional
Planners) as well as with UN Habitat and UN ISDR.
7. Improving Communication towards Member
Nations, the industrial actors and the public. As part of its action plan, ITA
launched a satisfaction survey among the stakeholders of the Association to
determine overall satisfaction with the organization and solicit feedback from
the membership.
The
survey was performed between November 5th and December 23rd, 2014 and sent to
380 ITA members that include the 71 Member Nations, 46 working groups and
Committees animateurs and chairs, 262 Affiliate Corporate Members, Supporters,
Prime Sponsors and Affiliate Individual Member.
The
overall results were positive, showing member agreement with ITA’s strategy and
functioning. Also, the Association is viewed as a dynamic place that must be
known and that is necessary for the future. One of the main conclusion is that
ITA should emphasis on its goals to promote underground space use and optimize
the functioning (organization and publications) of working groups and
committees to reach its objectives.
Tuesday,
May 26th: the Open Session, focus on… Hydro Power, a mature technology in almost
160 countries in the world
The
Open Session took place on May 25th. Different from a technical session, it
aimed at initiating a dialog between experts around the world, and at sharing
technology and experiences in the framework of ITA’s strategic goals. This
year, the Open Session made a specific focus on Hydro power.
ITA
intended to show how the exploitation of underground spaces can be a
sustainable solution for hydro power use. As a matter of fact, underground
space can make hydro power scheme more sustainable in regards to environment,
social and economic aspects, when used in suitable settings and with clear
understanding of all risks, particularly geotechnical risks. Several key
international speakers attended this Open Session, and evocated concrete
examples of Hydro power concepts in Croatia (notably describing the HPP Ombla
multi-purpose hydroelectric project), China, Norway, Thailand, Germany and
Bhutan).
The
numerous interventions led to the conclusion that, by financing concepts based
on renewable energy and on revenues, hydro tunnels and related structures,
surge shafts, penstocks and underground powerhouses, are the most reliable
long-term solutions for energy supply.
ITACUS’
session and underground urbanism
The
2015 WTC was also the occasion for ITA’s Committee on Underground Space
(ITACUS) to lead a lively session on underground urbanism, around keynotes
presentations, interviews and interactions with the public, on Tuesday 26th.
The urban planner and designer Elizabeth Reynolds came on purpose from London
to present a publication redacted jointly by experts from ISOCARP and ITACUS.
Centred
on 5 case studies on the use of underground space, such work is the result of a
two-year cooperation between planners and engineers. It aims at demonstrating
to planners the value of underground space as part of the urban environment.
Moreover, the session permitted to identify innovative solutions to incite
politicians to “tunnellise” their central urban areas and enable ambitious underground
projects.
The
ITACUS Steering Board Members, who were all present at the session, interacted
with the public and unveiled the current trends in the underground space
development, with interesting insights on the cases of Stockholm, Paris,
Helsinki, and Singapore, and on cross-sector collaborations.
ITA’s
General Assembly on May 27th: what’s next?
While
the first General Assembly, hold on Sunday 24th and presenting its new Member
Nations, was focusing on an general balance of the Association’s activity, ITA
27th of May General Assembly centred the discussions on the future perspectives
of ITA’s activities.
The
cities of San Francisco, in the United States, and Bergen, in Norway, will thus
host the next 2016 and 2017 WTCs. Nowadays indeed, the two countries face huge
underground challenges. In North America, in addition to the Alaskan Way
tunnel, one can notably quote the construction or extension of metro lines
planned in Seattle, and the extension of metro lines planned to Los Angeles,
New York, Baltimore, San Francisco or Boston.
An
example that puts aside the numerous sewers and flood protection tunnels that
are planned all over the country. In Norway, numerous tunnels are being settled
today, while many others are still in their project phase. Also, several
undersea road tunnels, such as the Ryfast and Rogfast projects, the future
connection under the Oslo fjord, or tunnels for the Folo railway line, are at
stake.
The
General Assembly also organised the vote about the future 2018 World Tunnel
Congress host. Dubai (United Arab Emirates) came out as the winner, ahead of
Dehli, India… In the Gulf Cooperation Council region indeed, many metro
projects are underway or planned, notably in Doha, Qatar, as well as in Ryadh,
Mecca or in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the area, several drainage
tunnels are planned or in construction. A railway line linking the different
countries is also under consideration.
About the International
Tunneling and Underground Space Association:
The
International Tunneling and Underground Space Association (ITA) is a non
-profit and non-governmental international organization, which aims at
promoting the use of underground space as a solution to sustainable
development. Founded in 1974 and operating out of Lausanne, Switzerland, ITA
currently associates 73 Member Nations, 200 affiliated members, 15 Prime
Sponsors and 60 supporters.
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