Salzburg/Pinglu: ALPINE Bau GmbH is building the 25-kilometer Pinglu water supply tunnel in the Chinese province of Shanxi west of Peking. The tunnel is part of the Yellow River Diversion Project’s north main line and will conduct water from the Yellow River to the Pinglu, Shuozhou and Datong regions. After driving 13 kilometers, the ALPINE team recently cut through to the Daliang chamber and thus completed the first section of this challenging project.
“Despite the extremely difficult geological conditions, our average driving speed was 750 meters per month last year“, says Siegfried Müller, ALPINE’s managing director in charge. A number of fault zones and several coal seams up to twelve meters thick had to be cut across since construction commenced in mid-2006. A special tunnel drill is being used to drive the tunnel – a telescopic shield. The tunnel drill is currently being overhauled in the Daliang chamber after completing the 13-kilometer drive. Afterwards it will be used to drill the remaining twelve kilometres of the water supply tunnel.
The excavated tunnel with a diameter of 4.8 meters will be lined with a total of 83,450 concrete segments, manufactured at the site’s own plant for prefabricated parts. 54,200 segments have been produced to date.
Over 400 jobs were created to complete the project in Pinglu. The ALPINE team has been on site to build the Pinglu water supply tunnel since mid-2005. The drill was launched in mid-2006. The 47-million-euro project is scheduled to be completed in 2009. Shanxi Province Wanjiazhai Yellow River Project General Corporation Ltd. is the client. As part of the Yellow River Diversion Project for the low-water regions of Pinglu, Shuozhou and Datong, the water supply project is decisive for their further development.
ALPINE is successful in China
ALPINE built two pumping stations for the Yellow River Diversion Project at the end of the 1990s. ALPINE is also responsible for the construction of the 42-kilometer Ningbo-Shengzhou Expressway on China’s east coast. ALPINE is currently successful in the field of building construction, implementing six projects ranging from production halls to sports facilities and schools.