World's longest tunnel opens regular service in Switzerland

Yahoo – AFP, December 11, 2016

The 57-kilometre (35.4-mile) new Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT)in Switzerland,
which runs under the Alps, was first conceived in sketch-form in 1947 but
construction began 17 years ago (AFP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)

Geneva (AFP) - Regular rail services through the world's longest tunnel began on Sunday, carrying passengers deep under the Swiss Alps from Zurich to Lugano.

The famed Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) had a ceremonial opening in June, attracting European leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande for its maiden ride.

The Swiss national rail service (SBB) had announced that Sunday would mark the start of normal commercial traffic through the 57-kilometre (35-mile) GBT, which took 17 years to build, at a cost of over 12 billion Swiss francs ($11.8 billion, 11.2 billion euros).

The Swiss news agency ATS reported that the first regular passenger train to use the GBT pulled out of Zurich at 6:09 am (0509 GMT) and arrived in Lugano at 8:17 am, with the tunnel passage shaving a full 30 minutes off the previous travel time for the same route.

"It's Christmas," SBB chief Andreas Meyer was quoted as saying by ATS after the journey was over.

The Gotthard rail tunnel (AFP Photo/Simon MALFATTO, Philippe 

MOUCHE, Frédéric GARET)

The ambitious GBT project has won praise across Europe for its pioneering efforts to improve connectivity from Rotterdam to the Adriatic.

The Swiss funded tunnel was largely made possible by technical advances in tunnel-boring machines, which replaced the costly and dangerous blast-and-drill method.

The GBT has surpassed Japan's 53.9-kilometre Seikan tunnel as the world's longest train tunnel.

The 50.5-kilometre Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France has been bumped into third place.

Pakistan and China cooperation to forge trade gateway: senator

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-04-22

A tunnel under construction on the Karakoram Highway connecting Xinjiang
in China with Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, April 18. (Photo/Xinhua)

Two-way trade between China and Pakistan is expected to swell by 300% to 400% in the next five years along with the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that connects Kashgar city in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the southwestern Pakistan port of Gwadar via highways, railways and pipelines, Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao reports, citing a Pakistani senator.

"The corridor will greatly benefit both Pakistan and China, as it involves deployments in comprehensive cooperation in the fields of manufacturing, energy, and transportation, etc," Saleem Mandviwalla told the paper when asked which country will benefit more from the project.

The senator also expected Gwadar Port, located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baloschistan, to become the key gateway for Middle East transshipments to China in the coming few years.

President Xi Jinping of China is paying his first state visit for the year to Pakistan to oversee the signing of agreements pertaining to the implementation of the CPEC project, which may serve as a model for China in promoting its Belt and Road Initiative, the paper reported.

With the construction of the economic corridor, Mandviwalla said Pakistan will enjoy significant infrastructure improvement and transfer of manufacturing industries from China, thereby changing his country's economic structure. China's demand for clean energy to support the next decade of economic growth will be fully met by the new oil pipelines constructed under the project, he added.

China-Pakistan trade amounted to US$16.006 billion in 2014, with China enjoying a large trade surplus by recording US$13.248 billion in shipments to Pakistan. But Mandviwalla believes that once Gwadar becomes the gateway for shipments to China from Iran, Afghanistan and other neighboring countries, the trade imbalance will improve drastically.

Mandviwalla told the paper he believes Pakistan will eventually become the cornerstone of the trade gateway for Central Asia and the Middle East after the Gwadar-Xinjiang railways and highways are operational.

Jakarta Announces Plan for Integrated Tunnels to Manage Traffic and Floods

Jakarta Globe, Suara Pembaruan, Apr 27, 2014

An illustration of the plan for the Jakarta Integrated Tunnels.
(Berita Satu Illustration/Istimewa)

Jakarta. The city administration said it would begin building two dual-purpose tunnels by the end of the year in an effort to address increasingly dire conditions on the capital’s gridlocked, flood-prone streets.

Private building contractor Antaredja Mulia Jaya has been awarded a contract for the Jakarta Integrated Tunnel (JIT) project.

“The JIT development will be in collaberation with French investor Bouygues,” Antaredja head Agus Sidharta said on Friday at City Hall. “Bouygues is an international company that has taken part in the development of tunnels in Europe, Africa, United States, and China.

The tunnels — connecting Ulujami to Tanah Abang and Pasar Minggu to Manggarai — have been designed to carry flood water and traffic on separate levels, at a projected cost of Rp 34 trillion ($2.92 billion), Indonesian news portal Kompas.com reported.

Agus said his company would work with Jakarta’s toll road developer to build and maintain the road portion of the project.

Each tunnel is set to measured 11 meters in diameter and 12 kilometers in length, from 5 to 15 meters below ground.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said that the city government had given the project its full approval and saw it as a sensible plan for the city.

Jakarta moves on deep-tunnel project

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post) : Governor Sutiyoso briefed Vice President Jusuf Kalla Wednesday over the planned deep tunnel project aimed at resolving chronic water and transportation problems in the capital.

"If the government agrees with the project, we will start construction next year," he told reporters after the meeting.

He said that the 22-kilometer tunnel would also solve flooding in the capital.

"Seeing the many functions of the tunnel, we will push the central government so that the project can be realized," he said.

According to the project designed by the Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body, the tunnel, with a diameter of 12 meters, will be built 15 meters below the West Flood Canal from Jl. MT Haryono in East Jakarta to Muara Angke in West Jakarta.

The administration will then construct two levels of roads in the tunnel as well as waste water reservoirs.

Above the roads, the tunnel will be used as a utility duct.

Sutiyoso has briefed members of the House of Representatives and the City Council on the project.

Govt may provide cash for deep tunnel project

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The central government has agreed to help finance the multi purpose deep tunnel project (MPDT), pending a feasibility study, a state official said.

"The project is a good idea because it will overcome many problems in the city such as traffic congestion, water shortages, and poor sanitation," Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto told a press conference here Thursday after opening a seminar on the project.

He said the central government would not mind helping finance the project but it would first look at the result of a feasibility planned by the city administration this year. He suggested the feasibility study be paid for by the city administration.

"We will see whether the project is financially and technically feasible," he said.

The head of the Jakarta Water Regulatory Body, Achmad Lanti, said the body would need around US$2 million to conduct a feasibility study and to make the grand design for the project.

"It will take two years to finish the feasibility study and the design,"

"And if the project is not feasible, we will not make it happen," he said.

The 22-kilometer tunnel will be constructed 15 meters below the West Flood Canal project with entrances in Balekambang, East Jakarta, and Manggarai, South Jakarta, and exits in Tanah Abang and Roxy in Central Jakarta and at the airport in Cengkareng, Tangerang.

There will be two levels of roadway and waste water reservoirs in the tunnel with diameters of 12 meters. Above the roadways, the tunnel will be used as a utility duct.

It is estimated that the tunnel will generate around Rp 2.2 trillion ($241 million) each year from the operation of the roadway as well as waste water treatment.

Meanwhile, Governor Sutiyoso said that the multi purpose deep tunnel would be the answer to all the crucial problems faced by the capital.

"I hope this concept will attract domestic investors as well as foreign investors because this is a big project which cannot be financed by the city administration or the central government alone," he said.

The project was first proposed by the Jakarta Water Regulatory Body in February after severe flooding inundated much of the capital. In its initial proposal, it was estimated that the project would need Rp 4.37 trillion. However, more recent projections put the cost at four times that amount.

Deeper pockets needed to finance Deep Tunnel: Guv

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The project to build a 22-kilometer tunnel to solve Jakarta's chronic water and transportation problems will likely cost some Rp 16.3 trillion (US$1.8 billion), four times the budget proposed in February.

Governor Sutiyoso said Monday that 30 percent of investment for the project would come from the central government and the city's budget.

"I'm inviting the private sector to fund the project," he said.

Sutiyoso expressed optimism that the private sector would invest in the Jakarta Multi Purpose Deep Tunnel project, since they would stand to reap a large amount of revenue from the electricity, water and fertilizers produced in the tunnel.

It is estimated that the tunnel will generate around Rp 2.2 trillion each year from the operation of two levels of roadway and a waste water reservoir.

Waste water from the tunnel will be processed to become clean water in North Jakarta's Pluit dam to help meet the water requirements of up to 1.5 million residents.

The tunnel will also produce hydroelectricity and fertilizer from the wastewater process.

For around two weeks of high rainfall each year, the entire tunnel, including roadways, will turn into a massive duct for channeling rainwater.

According to the Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body, which initiated the project, the area above the roadways will be used as a utility tunnel.

The entire tunnel will be constructed 15 meters below the West Flood Canal project with entrances in Balekambang, East Jakarta and Manggarai, South Jakarta and exits in Tanah Abang, Roxy and the airport in Cengkareng, Tangerang.

"The project is a good alternative for Jakarta since land acquisition won't be necessary to bring the tunnel about," said Achmad Lanti, the head of the regulatory body.

Achmad said he hoped the tunnel would be finished by 2014, although he admitted such a projection was based on the smooth running of the project.

The city administration will hold an international seminar on the deep tunnel on May 24 to attract investors to fund the project.

The seminar will be attended by representatives from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and other international financial institutions.

Administration to conduct tunnel feasibility study

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta administration will conduct a feasibility study on a plan to build a 22-kilometer tunnel aimed at resolving chronic water and transportation problems in the capital.

"If everything runs smoothly, the administration can complete the technical design by 2009 and start construction by 2010," Firdaus Ali, a member of the Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body told reporters after meeting with Governor Sutiyoso on Tuesday.

According to the project design, the administration will construct two levels of roadway in the tunnel as well as waste water reservoirs.

Waste water will then be processed to become clean water in North Jakarta's Pluit drain, the product of which will meet the water requirements of up to 1.5 million residents.

Above the roadways, the tunnel will be used as a utility duct.

The project was first proposed by the body in February after severe flooding which inundated much of the capital.

In its initial proposal, the Rp 4.37 trillion project was designed to handle repetitive floods in the city with the capacity to entrap 30 million cubic meters of water.

Sutiyoso briefed members of the House of Representatives and the City Council on the project at the time and due to negative responses from legislators the body redesigned the project.

It has been proposed that the 22-kilometer tunnel with a diameter of 12 meters will be constructed 15 meters below the West Flood Canal from Jalan MT Haryono in East Jakarta to Muara Angke in West Jakarta.

"At first we proposed the construction of a deep tunnel intended to cope with annual flood problems. But we have now integrated turnpikes, wastewater management and a water recycling system like those in Singapore and Malaysia into the design," Firdaus said.

The body's head, Achmad Lanti, sought support from members of the Regional Representative Council at a seminar on flood problems.

"The project is a good alternative for Jakarta because there will be no need for land acquisition. We hope councilors can support our idea," he said.

The body said that underground drilling works would be conducted using a global positioning system to avoid disturbances or activity on the surface.

Similar underground reservoirs have already been constructed in big cities such as Chicago, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

To materialize this plan, the administration will organize an international seminar on deep tunnels to attract investors to fund the project.

Firdaus said that representatives from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and investors from Malaysia would attend the seminar.

"We hope 70 percent of funding for the project will come from private companies," he said.

Jakarta has long experienced floods in the rainy season and droughts in the dry season due to uncontrolled land use which has caused land permeability to be low.

Of the city's average rainfall of two billion cubic meters per year, only 170 million cubic meters of rain becomes groundwater, with a water deficit of 36 million cubic meters per year.

The administration is also under pressure to improve the city's poor transportation system which causes heavy traffic congestion daily.