The
World Tunnel Congress 2017: 6 days of innovation sharing
Lausanne,
19 june 2017.-
Held in Bergen, Norway from 9th to 15th June by the International Tunnelling
and Underground Space Association (ITA) and the Norwegian Tunnelling Society
(NFF), the World Tunnel Congress and 43rd ITA General Assembly were a momentous
occasion and an undoubted success for the global tunnelling industry. During
the six days, over 1,500 delegates - experts, academics, civil and tunnel
engineers - shared their experiences, methodologies and state-of-the-art
technologies on different aspects of tunnelling and underground construction.
Key issues faced by the industry were discussed in order to achieve a unified
industry response to the surface challenges that affect urban populations.
A serene classical music introduction by the
Holbergsuiten Grieg ensemble, and an opening speech given by His Royal Highness
Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway, were followed by the warm welcome given
by ITA President Tarcisio Celestino. This paved the way for the start of the
congress.
From this point flowed presentations, working
groups, seminars and site visits. With 340 technical papers and 120 lectures,
the World Tunnel Congress has once again consolidated its position as the
world's premier tunnelling event.
The
International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association makes major
announcements during the World Tunnel Congress 2017 :
• The
ITA releases the new global market study of Tunnelling industry
During
WTC 2017, the ITA released its latest market survey highlighting the economic
trends in global tunnelling. If 2016 was an excellent year, then the future is
definitely bright.
With a total €86bn global output for tunnel
and underground space construction in 2016, which represents a 23% increase
over the figure for 2013, the industry's prospects for the coming years look to
be very positive.
A
few noteworthy factors have emerged, notably the rise of the Middle East as a
strong market with its €10,2bn output in 2016 comparable to that of Europe
(€9,7bn). Also on the rise is the Indian market that has doubled in three
years. The European market however remains stable. China by itself represents
about 50% of the world market.
The
key future trend in tunnelling is undoubtedly the correlation between tunnels
and sustainable development. Throughout the world, major underground projects
are characterised by their sustainable credentials: for example, many cities
are now building tunnels for the temporary storage of storm water (typically
5m-10m diameter and several kilometres long). Metro tunnels are increasingly
used to alleviate traffic and reduce air pollution in most cities in China,
with similar huge developments on the horizon in India, in addition to recent
projects in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The ITA analysis predicts a global output in
tunnel construction of around €680bn, representing a pipeline of work of more
than eight years. The total combined projects for India, South-East Asia and
China match the total for Europe, and together they represent 75% of the global
tunnelling output.
• The
Tunnelling Association Nigeria joins the ITA:
Nigeria was officially welcomed as the 74th
member nation and represented by Mr. Abidemi Agwor, President of Tunnelling
Association Nigeria.
Nigeria is the most populous black nation in
the world and currently 7th most populous nation in the world, however
Nigeria’s population is expected to grow rapidly to become the 3rd most
populous nation in the world behind China and then India which is expected to
leap frog China to the first in the next 20 years. In 2015, 57,757,000 people
in Nigeria lacked access to "improved" water. A 2006 study estimated
that only 1% of Lagos households were connected to sewers.
The new membership of Nigeria into the ITA
shows the strong determination of the Africa’s most powerful economy, which
represents $520.1B with a capacity to
grow at rates greater than 5 percent yearly, as demonstrated in the 6.2% growth
rate before slowing down in 2015, to
attain the goals fixed by the UN. For example, the African Urban Agenda
(UN-Habitat programme) sets sustainable development targets for a 2063 horizon;
and the sixth main target of the UN for sustainable development that states “By
2030, [to] achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable
drinking water for all”.
A lot of things have already been done in
order to improve the situation: Lagos has four wastewater treatment plants
which have been rehabilitated around 2010. From 2011, the state planned to
build ten new "mega wastewater treatment plants" over a five-years
period with the help of private investors. The National Integrated
Infrastructure Master Plan launched in December 2013 proposed a yearly spend of
$30 billions over the next 5 years.
“Membership of the ITA will certainly boost
the efforts that have previously been put into initiating the extensive
promotion of using our underground space in Nigeria. We have set ourselves a
10-year strategic plan which we expect not just to achieve but surpass and
being a member nation of the ITA is key to us meeting these goals. As an association with global relevance, part
of our objectives is to promote the sustainable development Goals as set by the
United Nations especially the goals that directly affect water and sewage,
infrastructure and habitable environment, we are aware that these are also core
global objectives of the ITA.” Mr. Abidemi Agwor, President of Tunnelling
Association Nigeria
• From
Norway to…Malaysia!
On Wednesday 14th June, during the ITA
General Assembly, the 74 member nations of the ITA elected the host nation for
WTC 2020. After rigorous scrutiny of the three applicants, the winner was
Malaysia with 30 votes, against 22 for Australia.
Co-organised with The Institution of
Engineers, Malaysia (IEM), the 2020 World Tunnel Congress will have as its
theme “Innovation and Sustainable Underground Serving Global Connectivity”.
Tunnelling Market in Malaysia:
Malaysia is experiencing steady growth in
urban areas and therefore requires improved infrastructure in transportation
and energy. Recently, the country launched successful urban underground
projects such as: the SMART project to provide a storm water storage reservoir
and a 9,7km, 11,8m diameter bypass tunnel; Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer
Tunnel, which can deliver 1,89 billion litres per day, and the Mass Rapid
Transit, a rail-based public transport network.
A
worldwide event dedicated to innovation & high-skilled expertise :
The line-up for WTC2017 included:
Muir
Wood Lecture
Now
a much anticipated event at WTC, this year's Muir Wood lecture was given by
Professor Hakan Stille of The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. The
theme was 'Geological Uncertainties in Tunnelling - Risk Assessment and Quality
Assurance' and Prof Stile noted that compared to other civil engineering
projects, the greater uncertainties in rock tunnelling may require adapting
various standards to suit underground projects. The tunnelling industry needs
an appropriate project model based on tollgates and milestones that is
applicable to rock engineering based on the epistemic nature of geological
uncertainties and which can be minimised by updated observation and
investigation.
Prof
Stille said that interpreting warning signs can prevent events such as tunnel
collapse and high levels of water ingress, and if the project manager has
overall responsibility the work can respond to the encountered complexity.
He
reminded the audience that rock is unlike concrete and steel, so normal
calculations alone are insufficient for design verification. In most cases
therefore, the observational approach in tunnelling is mandatory and can be
seen as part of risk assessment and quality control.
A common approach is to adopt prescriptive
measures such as rock classification systems although their limitations must be
understood in order to achieve adequate risk assessments. ‘Doing things right’
and ‘doing the right things’ form part of a dual quality system as defined in
Euro Code 7 (EC7) that must be adapted to rock engineering problems.
The
“Open Session”:
Tuesday's
Open Session had as its theme 'Rethinking major infrastructure projects: a new
look at underground solutions and public acceptance.' A total of seven eminent
speakers enthralled the audience with a variety of tunnel projects and themes
that explored not just the technical and financial aspects, but also questions
around the importance of gaining public acceptance. But how do we achieve that?
Communicating
to the public the benefits of tunnelling projects, including works mitigation
and schedules, and environmental considerations, was considered critical in
getting public support and understanding for these schemes. In many of the
projects discussed, such as enlarging the underground station adjacent to
Norway's National Theatre in Oslo, and New York's Second Avenue Subway it
became apparent that neighbours and residents desire minimal disturbance
(noise, vibrations, dust etc) and limited project visibility, as well as early
promotion of the contractor's environmental programme and mitigation measures.
Where
possible, from the earliest possible stages, we should clearly identify and
communicate the benefits that these projects will bring to the localities
concerned. This is particularly true if there are to be spin-offs in terms of
economic growth, wealth creation and jobs. Local community support is therefore
essential and it is important to:
Liaise
with neighbours, stakeholders, politicians and media to highlight the
construction works schedule and identify challenges and mitigation measures;
communicate with them at all stages of the project to keep them involved;
Each
project is different and therefore technical solutions must be adapted to suit
the local environment and
Respecting
the general public is key to gaining acceptance for the project, especially
when the work site is in a sensitive area and the project has high media
scrutiny.
The
open sessions generated interesting questions including how to define an
environmental programme during the construction phase; what kind of mitigations
were put in place to minimise disturbance and environmental impact (can these
be reused as tools on other projects?). And did project design teams include
specific sub-teams to take care of liaison and community relations?
Combined technical sessions
It
wouldn't be a WTC without the participation of the ITA's expert committees
which were fully active in Bergen.
The
ITA Committee on Technologies (ITAtech) looked at 'Innovation in Drill and
Blast, and Rock Support'. Papers included the use of conveyor belts for mucking
on the Solbakk project (the world's longest and deepest subsea road tunnel);
investigating blast damage; insitu pressure
measurements during pre-excavation grouting
in rock tunnels, and the design philosophy for permanent sprayed concrete
linings.
ITACUS
(Committee on Underground Space) examined the 'Use of the Underground', and in
particular new ideas and uses for underground space. This went beyond simply
utility tunnels and examined new commercial uses, underground concourses and
how cities can utilise underground space for sustainable development. How can
we as an industry influence the development of new undergound uses?
The
ITA-COSUF (Committee on Operational Safety and Underground Facilities) had the
theme of 'New Security Challenges for Design and Operation'. Terrorism has
unfortunately become a fact of life. How should it be managed in tunnel
systems? How will decision making be influenced in times of disaster and
terror? And how can we protect tunnel control centres from threats to their
cyber security?
Working Group 22: dedicated to digital
applications and BIM
The
creation of the Working Group 22 was agreed by the ITA General Assembly, around
“Information Modelling in Tunnelling”. This group gathers Australia, Austria,
Brazil, Germany, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and
United Kingdom. Its animator is Dr. Jurij Karlovsek and Vice -animateur is Mr.
Paolo Cucino.
This working group aims to study “Building
Information Modeling” software’s application for the underground construction.
Identifying the differences between civil engineering and underground
constructions and ensure that BIM respects these differences is one of the main
goal of this group. It also focuses on the development of common procedures
based on experiences and lessons learned including other engineering fields.
About the International Tunnelling and
Underground Space Association:
The International Tunnelling and Underground
Space Association (ITA) is a non-profit and non-governmental international
organization, which promotes the use of underground space for a solution to
sustainable development. Founded in 1974 and operating out of Lausanne,
Switzerland, ITA currently associates 74 Member Nations, 300 affiliated
members, 17 Prime Sponsors and 60 supporters, as well as individual members.
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