Dear Friends in ITA ,

Thank you to those members and delegates who came Prague to support ITA. I hope that you enjoyed  the WTC. The Czech Tunnelling Committee provided an excellent agenda  in all respects and l have written to them expressing my sincere thanks.
Over 1200 delegates attended the WTC in Prague demonstrating that ITA  is considered to be the leading voice in International. We must continue to maintain our position.
My new Presidency starts immediately and the new ITA ExCo met on the 11th May just  after the WTC. We focussed on actions regarding the Working Groups, Training, relations with the Press and Media, Prime Sponsors and a `membership drive` and of course the Strategy.
My next meeting with members of the ITA ExCo has been in Toronto at the RETC, beginning of June .There will be ad hoc meetings of the ExCo in Lisbon during the ISRM Congress  in July 07 and during the PIARC Congress in Paris in September.Our next full ExCo meeting is in Madrid in November during the Tunneling Congress planned for this time.
My agenda for the next 3 years was set out in all the Newsletters that l sent to each of the Member Nations  before Prague (you can have a look on them: Newsletter 1, Newsletter 2, Newsletter 3).
Please let your colleagues in your country and your business know that  ITA wants to be a leading spokesman for our industry and profession.
If the attendance of the delegates in Prague is a barometer of our industry then we have a thriving future. Our biggest enemy is not having enough engineers (young and not so young) and artisans coming into tunnelling to serve the future work load in our urban infrastructure .
The future of our industry is dependant on us attracting good people to work in tunnelling and to promote safe and  reliable working practises. Please remember your role in supporting this aim.
Good luck in your business and my best wishes to your National  Committees. Thank you for having the confidence to elect me as your  new President.To those who visit our website and read our news l would encourage you to be members and play an active role in our Association.

Martin Knights - ITA President

Since his election several articles have been published (article1, article 2)

During the 33rd ITA General Assembly a new Executive Council has been elected :

The following maine decisions have been taken :

• The Association has a new name
The General Assembly has decided as part of its strategy to change the name of the association as follows: "International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association" / "Association Internationale des Tunnels et de l'Espace Souterrain".

• The General Assembly has approved the strategy 2007 plan of the Association, including actions of communication, education and training, as well as the consolidation of the administrative structure. 
• Creation of two new committees:
     - Committee on Education and Training (CET): Chairman : A. Assis
     - Committee "Underground Space" (CUS)

The full press release of the 33rd General Assembly is available here.
Le communiqué de presse en français est disponible ici.

The proceeding of the open session held on May the 8th on "New Financing : Trends and Consequences on the tunnelling contracts" will soon be available for ITA members in their dedicated member area.

The proceeding of the training session for young professionals held on May 5-6 on "" will soon be available for ITA members in their dedicated member area.

The keynote lectures presented during the WTC'07 in Prague have been published in the magazine "Tunel" by the Czech Tunnelling Committee ITA-AITES and are availbale as a pdf file here.

China

The Tunnel and Underground Works Branch of CCES held an important congress in Xian, China on April 18 and 19, 2007.  The congress, China Summit 2007, highlighted new planning, design and construction techniques by experts from all over the world. The congress was organized by Mr. Guo Shanyun, Director of the Tunnel and Underground Works Branch.  Past President Parker presented a keynote speech titled “The Sustainable Development and Safe Construction in Tunnels“.  Subsequently, he visited the newly-opened Qingling Zhongnanshan Tunnel which consists of 4 lanes in 2 parallel tunnels each 18km long making it the second longest road tunnel in the world.  Past President Parker and Ms. Jenny Yan, Vice President of the Tunnel and Underground Works Branch were interviewed by the local television station on the many advantages of the tunnel.   

France

The French Tunnelling and Underground Space Association has released its new website. More than 40recommendations published by the AFTES are available in English from the website.

On the 30th of June the longest underground museum has been inaugurated in Toulouse. In fact, the second metro line of the city,is 15.8 km long and each of the 20 underground stations hosts an art piece specifically deigned and produced for the metro. It was also the case for the line commissioned in 1993. This second line has been constructed in - years for a total cost of 1.3 billion euros.

Hungary

The start of constructions of the metro line 4 began last year on the Buda-side with station boxes and launch-shafts. Until this April was constructed the shaft on the Etele square, tunnel boring machines were delivered to the site and after the assembling of the TBM + Back-up with its 113 m length, boring on the left side could be launched . The second machine started a month later. Now both TBMs are working. After the first meters they are running near at 200m and near at 100 m and they will build 10-20 m pro day.

Iran

The Iranian Tunnelling Association has a new website.

India

During the last General Body Meeting of the Adhering Committee of ITA (India), it was decided to change the existing name of the Indian Committee [“ Adhering Committee of ITA (India) ]to indicate its activity and stature to attract more underground construction professionals to joint the Indian chapter as Members from various organizations involved in the tunnel and underground works in the country.

Accordingly, very recently the name of the Indian Committee has been changed as “Tunnelling Association of India”

Korea 

Korean Tunnelling Association (KTA) is conducting a government-funded 5-year research under the supervision of Prof. In-Mo Lee, the president of KTA.  The project was granted by the Korean Ministry of Construction and Transportation (KMCT) and is aimed at developing relevant design and construction techniques especially for large section-underground space including tunnel.  The research program covers a wide range of design and construction aspects of underground space such as development of high performance support systems, IT-based design methods, and innovative construction techniques in difficult construction environment.  
The KMCT is now operating a number of research programs related to construction technologies.  Recently, a forum was held during the period of May 7~8 in Seoul in order to promote and exchange the achievement made by the research programs.  The KTA-operating research center (Underground Space Construction Technology Center, USCTeC) also took part in the forum.  During the forum USCTC operated a booth exhibiting the results of the 3-year research outcome.

Russia

In Moscow, Russia it is planned to put into operation two transportation Serebrianoborsky tunnels 2530m long (each of them), 14.2 m diam. and a service one in December 2007. A road for three lanes will be located on the upper level of each main tunnel; a subway line will be located on the lower level.
Now life-support systems are installed in the tunnels.
The information on these tunnels together with some  papers on other Russian underground projects were presented at sessions and published in the Proceedings of the 33rd ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress (Prague, 5-10 May 2007):
“Largest transportation system – Metro and road in the same tunnel” (by V.M. Abramson & S.Yu. Loubotski).
“Construction of major trunk road tunnels in Moscow” (by B.I. Yatskov et al.).

South Africa

The activity report of South Africa is available here.

SANCOT continues to function as a committee of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM). It meets quarterly to discuss matters of mutual interest and to arrange technical functions such as site visits and seminars.

In the report are detailed forur major Tunnelling and Underground Space projects :

	Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Further Phases : Feasibility Study
	Gautrain
	Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme
	Steelpoort Pumped Storage Scheme

Switzerland

On 24 May, the inaugural lecture was given by Professor Jian Zhao, at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) of Switzerland.  The title of his inaugural lecture is TUNNELLING IN ROCKS - PRESENT TECHNOLOGY AND FUTURE CHALLENGES
The presentation material can be found here.

Inauguration of the Lötschberg Tunnel.

After eight years under construction, the construction project of the century, the Lötschberg base tunnel, has been completed on time. In a ceremony held on the 15th of June, at the north portal in Frutigen, BLS AlpTransit AG as constructor handed over the structure to the Swiss Confederation as client, which in turn handed it over to BLS AG as operator. 1,200 invited guests from home and abroad, including a number of transport ministers, and the ITA represented by its Secretary General, Claude Berenguier, the Treasurer, François Vuilleumier, and the former President, Alfred Haack, were able to experience this historic moment for Swiss transport policy.

The Lötschberg base tunnel forms part of the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA) which has the goal of shifting transalpine goods traffic from road to rail. And what could be more appropriate than opening the base tunnel with an Italian goods train? With lights and sound effects, just after 10.30, the 1,300 tonne goods train burst through the paper covering the eastern tube at the north portal. Visibly proud, Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger, Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC), together with Peter Teuscher, Director of the constructor BLS AlpTransit AG and Mathias Tromp, Director of the operator BLS AG, stepped down from the locomotive.

USA

The new chairman of the Underground Construction Association of SME, is Brenda M. Bohlke. (read more)

On April 12, Harvey Parker delivered the 5th William Barclay Parsons lecture to the New York Met Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).  His lecture, titled “Planning for Tunnels and Underground Space” included a  description of ITA and the benefits one can gain from visiting the ITA website and by becoming a member of ITA.  He also congratulated New York City Transit on their ground breaking that very day for the new 2nd Avenue Subway.

WG 5

Members were pleased to note that the “Safety in Tunnelling” booklet is now available in seven languages, the most recent translations being into Norwegian and Portuguese respectively.

The revision of the “Guidelines for good occupational health and safety practice in tunnel construction” was completed in Prague and will be published soon.

WG 15

The final draft report on "Environmental and Sustainable Reasons for going Underground" was completed in Prague and will be published soon.

ITA - COSUF (Committee on Operational Safety of Underground Facilities).

The ITA-COSUF organized in Prague a workshop on "New aspects in Tunnel Safety". It gathered 50 participants to analyse the following topics: Safety approaches and risk analysis, Integration of human factors and organisational aspects, Tunnel Safety Concepts.

The workshop was followed by the General Assembly of ITA-COSUF, with the presentation of the activities. The new President of the ITA-COSUF is now Felix Amberg, Switzerland.

The new website of the organization of the World Tunnel Congress 2008 and ITA 34th General Assembly is on line.

You will be able to download the congress bulletin as well as the exhibition information.

During the General Assembly, Pal Koksonya, chairman of the WTC'09 organizing committee presented the status development of the congress. (read); more information are also available in the website

During the General Assembly in Prague, Vancouver, Canada has been chosen to host the WTC'10 and the ITA 36th General Assembly. It will take place from 15 to 20 May 2010. The main theme of the congress will be :

Since 1987 ITA has been recognized by the United Nations as a Non Governmental Organization (NGO).  Over the years ITA has increased its activity with the United Nations.  Much of our work has been in cooperation with Dr Aliye Celik initially with UN Habitat and subsequently with ECOSOC.  Dr. Celik was invited by ITA to give the Opening Keynote Lecture to the World Tunnel Congress in Washington, D.C. in 1996 and in her home country in Istanbul in 2005.  Dr. Celik recently retired and Harvey Parker and Secretary General Claude Berenguier visited her and presented her with a letter of commendation thanking her for her special cooperation with ITA.
During their visit, Harvey Parker and Claude Berenguier also met with the new Chief, ECOSOC and Intergovernmental Cooperation Branch,  Mr. Sergei Kambalov to discuss future cooperation between ITA and the UN.  It was suggested that ITA organize a UN conference highlighting some of the beneficial aspects of the Underground. 
Subsequently, Harvey Parker, together with ITA-UCA delegates Bennett and Plotkin met with Ambassador Akram to discuss the benefits of the underground.  The Ambassador is the past president of ECOSOC, the current Chairman of the Group of 77 (Developing Countries) and the Permanent Ambassador to the UN from Pakistan.  The meeting concluded with a suggestion by the Ambassador to conduct a short UN conference on the benefits of the underground giving special attention to the benefits of the underground as a protection from natural and man-made hazards.
In June, Parker, Berenguier, Bennett, and Plotkin again visited Mr. Kambalov to follow up on the preparation of the UN Conference.  At that time, they also met with Ms. Federica Pietracci and Ralph Wahnschafft, UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD).  ITA will continue to develop closer relationships and cooperation with the Commission on Sustainable Development.

In June, the Spanish Fomento Minister Mrs Magdalena Alvarez and the Morrocan Public Works and Transport Minister Mr. Karim Ghallab, presented, on June the 8th, 2007 in Luxembourg the studies’ results of the Fixed Link project through Gibraltar Straits and the related northern and southern high speed railway networks, to the Vice President of the European Commission, transport Commissaire Mr. Jacques Barrot and requested the institutional support of the Commission to the development of the project.

Mr. Barrot proposed a second meeting on the beginning of autumn 2007, with the comissaire of the Foreign Relations of European Commission, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, to examine this request and define the way to support the project.

More information is available in the website

Swiss Tunnel Congress, Lucern, Switzerland, 21-22 June 2007

Already for the sixth time and for the third time in the congress center in Luzern the STS organized the Swiss tunnel Congress.
With over 700 participants from Switzerland and foreign countries attended the lectures. On the following day a considerable number of them visited the building sites of the GBT in Sedrun and Faido or visited the by-pass in Moutier as well as the Katzenberg Railway tunnel north of Bale.
Since the first conference in 2002 in Thun the Swiss tunnel Congress developed as a central event of the Swiss tunnel industry. The growth in popularity of this event can be attributed to many factors. Firstly the numerous lectures and the extensive excursions to the sites of the Gotthard Basis Tunnel that have been offered should be mentioned. In addition, the unique location of the congress center at the Lake of Luzern and the special ambiente associated with the conference center contribute to its success.
Based on this unique foundation the STS gradually develops the Swiss tunnel Congress further. The spectrum of the lectures and the widening of the topics and excursions took place already last year. In addition the exhibition area was enlarged this year.
The STS is convinced that a larger exhibition increases the attractiveness of the Swiss tunnelling Congress for the visitors - particularly as this exhibition was partly under the sensational and unique roof of the congress center in Luzern.
The beautiful and warm weather contributed that the fact that the participants could enjoy this special atmosphere and the program.

New Tunnels, New Challenges, Paris, France, 27 June 2007

Ita sponsored this colloquium organized by AFTES, the FNTP (French Federation of Public Works Companies) and the Transalpine (Association for the promotion of the Lyon-Turin rail link). This sponsorship allowed the ITA to invite 20 representatives of French speaking countries, members of ITA.

This colloquium allows the 180 participants to hear Peter Teuscher, Chairman of BLS Alptransit, drawing conclusions from his experience of the Lötschberg tunnel, inaugurated two weeks ago (see above).

Two round tables were organized and eminent experts debated on the technological challenges in one hand and the financial ones in the other hand. At the end, major representatives (French and Italian) in charge of the Lyon-Turin may have learned from the different experiences.

Piergiorgio Grasso, Vice President of ITA presented the activities of the Association and which way the international cooperation promoted by the Association can be an advantage for such major projects. The Secretary General, Claude Berenguier, and the Treasurer, François Vuilleumier, participated in this conference.

After the colloquium, the participants have had the opportunity to visit an exhibition on the major alpine tunnels (built, in construction or in project) organized by La Transalpine with major associations such as AFTES, and intended for the general public.

IRF

The ITA Secretary General was jointly invited by the IRF and the Turkish Road Association (ITA Member Nation from Turkey) to participated in the First Black Sea and 4th Silk Road Conference. This conference gathered participants from 33 countries including 10 Ministers and representatives of international bodies such as BSEC, TRACECA, ECMT, IRU...

The ITA Secretary General was invited to make a presentation during the ministerial session. Several ITA Member Nations were represented (Bulgaria, China, Greece, Iran, Morocco, Romania, Ukraine and of course Turkey). At this occasion contacts have been made with not yet members countries such as Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Pakistan, Serbia, Syria.

ISSMGE

The 16th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference took place in Kuala Lumpur in a suburban township known as Subang Jaya, from 8 to 11 May. The Conference was attended by the President and the Vice President for Asia of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), Professor Pedro S. Sêco e Pinto and Professor M. R. Madhav. It was well attended by about 500 participants from 23 countries.  Many ICE members in Malaysia attended this very important conference. Dr. Ooi Teik Aun, the ICE Country representative for Malaysia who is also the Chairman of the Organizing Committee and the representative of the Tunnelling and Underground Technical Division of IEM Malaysia delivered his welcoming Address. The  The Honourable Minister of Housing and Local Government of Malaysia Dato’ Ong Ka Ting who was the guest of honour, declared opened the 3-day Conference with one day of site visits.

SMART project was included as one of the 3 Technical visits. The SMART was declared opened on 14th May 2007 by the Minister of Works, Malaysia.

PIARC - World Road Association

The PIARC Technical Committee C3.3 - Road Tunnels Operation has released the "Guide for organizing, recruiting and training road tunnel operating staff" (read more)