In brief:
- Balfour Beatty has been awarded a £43m contract by Transport for London to upgrade London Underground's Piccadilly line. This is the second contract to be awarded under the ‘London Underground High Voltage Power’ framework.
- A fleet of marine robots, known as squads of adaptive robots (SoAR), are set to tackle complex offshore tasks. The two-year collaborative research and development initiative led by the developer of ecoSUB AUVs, Planet Ocean aims to demonstrate the potential of marine robotics in large-scale survey and exploration missions.
- A € 1.1 billion contract has been awarded to Prysmian PowerLink by a German transmission grid operator for the submarine cable project NOR-11-1 and the underground cable project DC31 in Germany. The project forms part of the country’s goal to reach an offshore wind capacity of 70GW by 2045 and to transfer the energy generated in the North Sea to consumers in the eastern and southern regions of Germany.
- VolkerFitzpatrick is partnering with Heathrow to deliver its new investment programme, which will provide a step-change in the customer experience and transform the airport on its journey to become a net-zero aviation hub.
- Bentley Systems' Seequent has acquired Flow State Solutions, a geothermal simulation software company. Its geothermal reservoir, wellbore, and surface network simulation software helps project developers and operators better understand geothermal resources for asset development and optimisation and improved well performance.
- A project by France Energies Marines has led to the development of a new floating offshore wind turbine design. Set up in 2020, the DIMPACT project has been looking to overcome the effects of strong winds and extreme wave loads on floating turbines with a new method developed.
- RWE has appointed Fugro to complete a geophysical survey off the Danish west coast. Preconstruction survey vessels will, for example, search for unexploded ordnance in around 34km of coast off of Thorsminde. The data acquired will define the cable routes and exact turbine locations for RWE’s Thor offshore wind farm.
- Bremore Ireland Port has unveiled its vision for the first new deep-water port development since the foundation of the Irish state. The ‘Vision for Bremore Ireland Port’ will be developed by Henning Larsen and become a deep-water multi-modal energy port.
- The world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, SSE's Dogger Bank, which is located 70 nautical miles off the northwest coast of England, has started producing electricity for the first time, marking a major milestone in the offshore wind industry.
Geotechnical testing laboratory opens in Taiwan
Fugro has opened its new geotechnical testing laboratory in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, bolstering its capability to deliver advanced geotechnical testing for the offshore wind market and the energy and infrastructure sectors.
With Soil testing services critical to understand the site conditions for the foundation design of offshore wind farms, the new laboratory is expected to increase Fugro’s lab capacity in Asia Pacific by 20% and reduce the turnaround time on testing by at least 30%.
Liam Gallagher makes surprise tram stop announcements
Manchester music legend Liam Gallagher took over tram announcements in celebration of the Bee Network, Greater Manchester’s integrated public transport system, and Beyond the Music festival last month. The new music festival and change-making conference that shone a spotlight on new music, grass roots venues and developing talent and infrastructure support for the city region with the festival's organisers urging gig-goers to make most of the new Bee Network system. Liam acted as the announcer on the pink line from Eccles to Ashton-underLyne via Salford Quays and Media City UK – his favourite line as it features the Etihad Campus stop of his beloved Manchester City.
The Bee Network is a huge step forward for the city with the launch of Greater Manchester’s first locally controlled bus services in nearly 40 years. Bus franchising signifies the start of the plan for an integrated, ‘London-style’ transport network across the region, combining bus, tram, active travel and eventually rail.
Quay Quarter Tower named as 2023's best tall building worldwide
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) annual award for best tall building worldwide has gone to Quay Quarter Tower, in Sydney, Australia. The organisation’s annual international conference in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, saw the tower which 'demonstrates importance of structure renewal to mitigate climate change' awarded an unprecedented seven awards. Owned by Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, Mirvac Wholesale Office Fund and Rest Super, the build repositioned and retained much of the existing underused 1976 AMP Centre saving 12,000 metric tonnes of embodied carbon in structure.
Southampton Airport runway extension completed
VolkerFitzpatrick has completed a £6m project to extend the runway at Southampton Airport. The project included the 164m extension to the northern end of Southampton’s runway which has allowed the airport to attract new airlines and offer new routes. As well as extending the runway, VolkerFitzpatrick provided a wider ‘turning pad’, to allow planes to U-turn at the end of the runway and a new blast screen, to minimise the impact of airport operations. Associated changes to drainage and lighting along the runway, the realignment of the northern perimeter fence and related works to the airside perimeter road and landside access track were also provided.
150th birthday facelift given to viaduct
The Grade II listed Pensford Viaduct in Somerset has been given a facelift in time for its 150th birthday thanks to National Highways’ Historical Railways Estate.
Renovations to the viaduct which opened in 1873, included repointing over 1,000 square metres of water-damaged parapet with a traditional lime mortar, carefully coloured matched with the original mortar.
Wuhan Optics Valley Skyrail Monorail opens
China's first commercial sky train has opened to the public in central China's Wuhan City, Hubei Province. The 9.9km automated suspended monorail with transparent glass floors links
Jiufengshan and Longquanshan and began passenger service in late September.
It includes two interchanges with the metro line and tramway line and six stations which serve the optical and electronics industries.
The 24-metre long two-section Photon Skyrail cars built by CRRC Qingdao Sifang can each carry up to 200 passengers and run at up to 70km/h at six-minute intervals.
There are plans to extend the line to 26.7km.
Younger trees champion carbon capture
Not all forests are equal when it comes to their ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. New research based on data from European Space Agency’s (ESA) SMOS satellite mission as part of ESA’s Climate Change Initiative RECCAP-2 project, found that boreal and temperate forests were carbon-rich in biomass, with tropical forests adding only small increases in carbon. Surprising, young and middle-aged forests – trees aged 50-140 years – played a dominant role in absorbing atmospheric carbon and accumulating biomass. Forests aged 140 years old and above, however, were carbon neutral – the opposite of vegetation model predictions.
Hidden grave marker may derail
Los Angeles metro line extension Long-disputed rumours of a hidden burial site in Lawndale in Los Angeles, USA, may now scupper plans for a 4.5 mile Metro C extension after the discovery of a grave marker The metro extension was due to be built through the area but many more grave markers have been discovered throughout the proposed route, which could now delay or force a reconsideration of the route.
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority had hoped to finalise a route and complete it by 2033, but the discovery of markers like that of Second World War veteran Earl Hoffman – uncovered in the backyard of a Lawndale home – could force officials to re-examine the routes. Despite records stating he was buried seven miles away in Hillside, the marker presents a problem for developers. The vote to determine the route is now scheduled for next year.
Saudi Arabia inaugurates $300m electricity market connection with Iraq
Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, the governor of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, inaugurated the Gulf Electricity Market Project's connection platform with the Republic of Iraq at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) headquarters in Al Dammam city. It is anticipated that approximately two terawatts of power will be exchanged with Iraq during the summer period. The trade is expected to extend into the winter season, reaching around half a terawatt. Overall contributing $200-300 m USD annually which could increase if there is a gas shortage.
Following a feasibility study, the authority is undertaking three expansion projects involving Kuwait and UAE, and direct interconnection with Oman, who are among the GCC countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The authority is committed to preserving energy security in a region where they believe transmission will evolve beyond traditional methods to include nuclear and renewable energy.
Secret tunnels which inspired James Bond novels could open to the public
Plans for a secret network of tunnels underneath London to become a visitor attraction are being drawn up by developer The London Tunnels Limited. The mile-long tunnels, which span 8,000m2 and are located below Chancery Lane tube station, have been kept a secret for nearly 70 years and were once used to house an offshoot of MI6 during the Second World War. It is thought they even inspired the Q Branch in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. The developer consisting of a group of investment specialists, plus architects Wilkinson Eyre, has undertaken a planning consultation to turn it into a visitor attraction along with London’s 'deepest licensed bar', with a formal application for the £220m project now due to be submitted for the site.
Stoney Creek trunk sewer upgrade project contract awarded
AECOM has been selected by Metro Vancouver to provide engineering services for the design and construction of the Stoney Creek Trunk Sewer upgrade project. The trunk sewer will be replaced to accommodate the current and future demands for the cities of Burnaby, Coquitlam, and Port Moody. The engineering services provided will cover the civil, structural, geotechnical, environmental, hydro-technica1, and traffic planning aspects of the design. Its scope of work includes the design of a new sewer between existing manholes at the intersections of North Road and Rathburn Drive, Government Street and Cariboo Road, assessment and implementation of air ventilation and odour control.
The Stoney Creek Trunk Sewer, originally installed in 1959, has become undersized due to substantial regional growth and increased groundwater infiltration due to aging infrastructure. The new sewer pipeline will mitigate these challenges and is expected to provide safe, efficient and reliable infrastructure with a service life of 100 or more years.