News Roundup

News Roundup

   

Infrastructure projects in UK and EMEA named as finalists in Bentley Systems’ 2022

Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure Bentley Systems, the infrastructure engineering software company, has announced several projects from the UK and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) as finalists in Bentley’s 2022 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure. The annual awards programme honours the work of Bentley software users advancing infrastructure design, construction, and operations throughout the world. Eleven independent jury panels selected 36 finalists from over 300 nominations submitted by more than 180 organisations from 47 countries encompassing 12 categories.

Returning to an in-person presentation, the winners will be revealed on 15 November at the awards event in London at the Intercontinental Park Lane, in front of invited press members and industry executives.

Finalist’s project presentations will also be available to view on 7 November via www.bentley.com/events/going-digital-awards/finalists/. 

FUKUI COMPUTER and Bentley Systems team up to promote digital transformation in Japan’s infrastructure field

In Japan, there are concerns about the increasing shortage of labour in the infrastructure field, which is impacting the ability to take measures to mitigate aging infrastructure. This situation is further aggravated by the intensification and frequent occurrence of natural disasters. To combat this, FUKUI COMPUTER has entered into a partnership with Bentley Systems to introduce and utilise 3D and digital twin solutions in the design, construction, and maintenance management sectors under the i-Construction and BIM/CIM strategy promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in Japan. It is hoped that the adoption of digital workflows in the Japanese construction industry will accelerate and support the promotion of digital transformation in the industry. 

 

Fugro is to survey one of the first large-scale offshore wind farm in Norway

Fugro has been awarded a marine site characterisation contract by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) for the Sørlige Nordsjø II offshore wind farm. This will include mapping the seafloor and sub-sea floor to expand understanding of the site’s geological features and support future developments. The development of the Sørlige Nordsjø II will be divided into two phases of 1500 MW each and will be one of Norway’s first large-scale offshore wind farms. Fugro will mobilise its largest survey vessel, Fugro Venturer, for the project to cover 900km2 along the eastern side of the site with more than 5,400km of geophysical data. To gain insight into seabed conditions, a suite of hydrographic surveying technologies and acoustic sensors, including full bathymetry and side scan sonar, a seismic survey, sub-bottom profiler and magnetometer. Water column data from the multibeam bathymetry system will also be recorded. 

Kier holds competition for OCT to create innovative system that protects seagrass

Kier recently teamed up with the Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT) on a design and engineering competition to collaborate on a design solution that protects seagrass beds. Seagrass, a key marine habitat which grows on the seabed in shallow marine and estuarine environments, is vital for capturing and storing carbon and critical for biodiversity, as it provides a nursery for young fish. In recent years, up to 90% of the UK’s seagrass has disappeared due to causes such as boat mooring damage as anchors and chains drag across the seabed. The competition provided an opportunity to design an advanced mooring system, which would keep boats safely secured, while protecting vital seagrass habitats from this type of damage.

Sophie Timms, Kier’s corporate affairs director and sponsor of Kier’s Building for Tomorrow sustainability pillar, said: “With net zero targets moving ever closer, it’s important to innovate to drive down the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.” 

 

Contracts signed between Dubai Municipality and OS to help make it the world’s happiest city through geospatial data and expertise

Dubai Municipality has signed two contracts with Ordnance Survey to harness geospatial data and expertise, accelerate innovation and help develop fundamental services for citizens, residents, and visitors in Dubai. It is hoped the partnership will aid in developing and governing the construction system for Dubai with OS supporting the Building Regulation and Permits Agency to improve services for customers and stakeholders in the building and construction sector in the Emirate.

A second contract was also extended between the GIS Centre Department (GISCD) of Dubai Municipality and Ordnance Survey, to implement a geospatial development strategy over several years. It follows on from the previous two-year contract. The end goal is to make Dubai the happiest city in the world for its citizens. 

Inflatable Moon base study conducted with ESA support

A vision of a future Moon settlement assembled from semi-buried inflatable habitats has been conducted by an inflatable structures specialist team in Austria; PneumoPlanet. Supported through the discovery element of the European Space Agency’s basic activities. It came about after Pneumocell submitted their idea to the agency’s open space innovation platform (OSIP) which was looking for ideas for space research. The study sees inflatable habitats that would be buried under four to five metres of lunar regolith, a region of loose unconsolidated rock and dust that sits atop a layer of bedrock, for radiation and micrometeorite protection. Mirrors are sited beside the lunar poles and positioned above each habitat in regions of near-perpetual solar illumination to reflect sunlight into greenhouses within the doughnut-shaped habitats. 

The US Army Corps has unveiled a new $52bn NY-NJ waterway project proposal that involves building a series of sea barriers and levees. It is a revised plan since the last proposal was shelved two-and-a-half years ago due to environmental concerns. The new proposal aims to protect the New York harbour region from flooding by building 12 movable sea barriers to block waterways in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and New Jersey. It also covers the construction of 31 miles of land-based levees, elevated shorelines, and sea walls. If confirmed, the final design would be expected in 2025, with construction beginning in 2030 and the project completed by 2044.

In addition, Georgia is constructing the first nuclear reactors the country has seen in three decades. The plan is that once completed – around 2023 – the two reactors, units three and four that are being built at the existing Plant Vogtle, will provide clean energy through nuclear fission to half a million homes and businesses. 

VolkerFitzpatrick selected by Hampshire County Council for M27 Junction 10 upgrade

Hampshire County Council has appointed VolkerFitzpatrick as its design and build contractor for delivering the planned M27 Junction 10 improvement scheme. The project will enable the development of Welborne Garden Village to the north of Fareham and involves the provision of a new motorway underpass, three new slip roads and a new dual carriageway. Construction is planned to begin in 2023. 

TFL renewable energy plans put on hold

Transport for London (TfL) has paused its procurement of renewable energy sources to power its network because of ‘a disappointing response due to a number of factors, including market uncertainty’.

The transport operator had planned to source 10% of its power needs from new-build wind or solar farms to help make London is net zero by 2030. Despite the setback, a TfL spokesperson has said that it will look to relaunch the tender before the end of the year. 

 

Help for Lake Powell as it continues to shrink

The second-largest reservoir in the US now stands at its lowest level since it was filled in the mid-1960 s. A key component of the western US water system is currently filled to just 26% of capacity – its lowest point since 1967. A status report in August for Glen Canyon Dam from the US Bureau of Reclamation, who manage the Colorado River basin, noted that two separate urgent drought response actions will help the lake by nearly one million acre-feet of water through April 2023.

To protect Lake Powell, more water will flow into the lake from upstream reservoirs and less water will be released downstream. It will see more water released from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir, which is about 455 river miles upstream of Lake Powell, in addition to less water being released from Lake Powell downstream to Lake Mead. 

 

 

Asian Winter Games set to be hosted in Saudi Arabian ‘desert’

Saudi Arabia has announced that it has won the right to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games at its Trojena resort, which is being designed as part of the Neom development, a city being built in Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia, by Zaha Hadid Architects, UNStudio, Aedas, LAVA and Bureau Proberts. The project is due to be completed by 2026 with an offer of ‘year round’ skiing becoming the Gulf’s first outdoor ski resort. As well as featuring a variety of other winter sports, there will be an artificial lake and renewable energy and will have both natural snow on the mountains and some artificial snow. Heights will range from 1,500-2,600m.

The resort is one of 10 regions being developed as part of the country’s Neom region. ‘The Line’ mega city, which was unveiled earlier this year, is being touted as another major infrastructure build that is part of the Neom development. ‘The Line’ is being designed as a 500-metre-tall, mirror-clad skyscraper housing nine million people. 

Project to bury power cables in Peak District completed

Morgan Sindall has completed its work for National Grid of removing 1.5km of overhead electricity cable and seven pylons as part of National Grid’s Visual Impact Provision (VIP) project.

The national stakeholder-led programme’s aim has been to improve views in areas of outstanding natural beauty and national parks across England and Wales.

After removing the seventh and final pylon in Dunford Bridge and in total 1.5km of overhead lines, National Grid and contractor Morgan Sindall replaced them with cables underneath the Trans Pennine Trail.

The £500m Going Underground project announced in 2014, is believed to be one of the first schemes in the world to remove existing high-voltage electricity cables just to enhance the landscap

 

Tideway’s London super sewer continues apace

The final, easternmost section of London’s new super sewer is now having its secondary lining installed by Tideway, the company delivering the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

The tunnel’s primary lining was completed for the entire super sewer back in April and with much of the secondary lining completed elsewhere, the team at Chambers Wharf has begun the final, easternmost stretch.

Secondary lining will continue on the final 5.5km stretch of the tunnel between Bermondsey and Abbey Mills Pumping Station into next year.

This is required to provide added strength to the 25km super sewer tunnel to intercept, store and ultimately transfer sewage waste away from the River Thames. when it is up and running in 2025. In total the tunnel is expected to cost £4.3bn to complete. 

In brief:

• On 1 September Topcon Corporation (the parent organisation of Topcon Positioning Systems) reached the milestone of 90 years in business. Founded in Tokyo in 1932 as the surveying instruments division of K. Hattori and Co. Ltd, the company we know today as Seiko, it initially made surveying instruments, binoculars, and cameras. 
• Dubai has announced its own megaproject ‘The Circle’ in response to Saudi Arabia’s 170m long desert mega city, ‘The Line’. Conceived by Dubai architects ZNera Space, ‘The Circle ‘project would create a circular 3km city, 550m above downtown Dubai and would contain everything from housing, commercial space, offices and cultural institutions.
• 2Excel Aviation, Hexagon, and Bluesky International have been named as the selected organisations to sit on a new framework created by Ordnance Survey. The Remote Sensing Acquisition Framework has been set up to support OS in achieving its strategic aims with regard to aerial services. 
• Parts of the widely-mocked and over-budget Marble Arch Mound, which Westminster City Council commissioned architects MVRDV to create for tourists, will be used to transform the nearby Ebury estate, a council report has revealed.
• An agreement has been signed to extend the use of European Space Agency space technology along European roads. The Agency’s Navigation Directorate has finalised a memorandum of intent with ERTICO, the organisation for the European Road Transport Telematics Implementation Coordination, a public-private partnership focused on the development, promotion and connection of intelligent road systems and services. 
• Meliha Duymaz has joined Skanska UK as chief financial officer and executive vice president.
• VolkerFitzpatrick is helping to reintegrate serving offenders into society and sustained employment. Working with HM Prison Hatfield in partnership with PSR Solutions, offenders and ex-offenders have been involved in the construction of two logistical units at the Mulberry Logistics Park in Doncaster.
• Balfour Beatty has joined forces with Aker Solutions to collaborate on UK offshore wind opportunities.
• Epic Games has announced a new strategic collaboration with Autodesk to ‘accelerate immersive real-time experiences across industries, starting with architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC).’
• In partnership with McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS), Fugro completed a rapid response mapping project in southwest Florida following Hurricane Ian’s destruction in the state at the end of September. The project involved aerial imagery over Port Charlotte and Fort Myers giving MIS the ability to perform damage assessments for insurance companies to help their customers recover.