This steel structure, weighing 800 tonnes, was pre-assembled on the ground and then lifted, with the help of strand jacks, to a height of 50 metres. The construction of this assembly hall and of the building that will house the future Tokamak reactor form part of contract TB03, which is being implemented by a consortium led by VINCI (58.3%, with VINCI Construction Grands Projets, VINCI Construction France and Dodin Campenon Bernard), working together with Spanish construction company Ferrovial Agroman (30%) and Razel-Bec (Fayat, 11.7%).
The big lift: www.iter.org/video/328
VINCI took the opportunity to commend the performance and engagement of COSEA, the construction joint venture responsible for designing and building the South Europe Atlantic high-speed line, which took only 38 months to complete all earthworks and civil engineering works. Over the three-year period, the construction teams set up a large number of worksites along the alignment to build the 340 km rail infrastructure, 24 viaducts and 500 engineering structures.
The record completion time made it possible to hand over the roadbed ahead of schedule to the teams in charge of installing the rail equipment, who are now progressing at a rate of 2×650 metres of platform per day.
“The Group’s employees, SME and ISE partners and subcontractors together performed the feat of completing this gigantic earthworks and civil engineering project in three years of works. The outsized project was a major challenge in terms of organisation, production and management, employing 8,500 people simultaneously at the height of activity. This great success reflects the uncompromising engagement of our construction teams, whom I take this opportunity to commend. The most visible part of the project is now behind us, as we move on to the second stage of the project focused on railway equipment. The success of this second stage is a huge responsibility for VINCI, but it also gives the Group a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate, once again, the power of its integrated concession-construction approach and the vitality of the public private partnership concept. The goal, which we all share, is to meet the target date of 31 July 2017, when the line is scheduled to begin commercial operation,” said Xavier Huillard.
An exemplar social and environmental project
The project was carried out in consultation and in partnership with the local stakeholders. In environmental terms, the Group’s teams worked day-to-day with non-profit organisations to optimally blend the infrastructure into its environment. They identified more than 220 protected species. In social terms, COSEA, Pôle Emploi (the French job centre) and the local authorities also worked closely together to recruit and train 2,000 local workers, who joined the 6,500 employees of the partner companies. Among other things, this partnership arrangement made it possible to exceed the initial target work integration objective, nearly doubling the number of work integration hours to 4.5 million of the 25 million total hours worked. Three-quarters of the people recruited locally for the infrastructure project were redeployed to the railway project or outplaced, notably via the Fondation COSEA pour Entreprendre (COSEA Enterprise Foundation), which supports business creation. Lastly, the project was exemplary in terms of safety, recording no accidents with serious consequences throughout the 25 million hours worked.
The Tours-Bordeaux high-speed rail line: one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects
The 340 kilometers line, which includes 40 km of connections to the conventional rail system, represents a total investment of €7.8 billion and constitutes the largest railway sector public private partnership ever signed in France and one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects.
Following the six years required to design and build it, the line will shorten the travel time between Bordeaux and Paris to two hours and five minutes.
The 50-year concession contract covers financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Tours-Bordeaux SEA HSL. Design and works, under LISEA programme management, were entrusted to the COSEA construction joint venture led by VINCI Construction and also including Eurovia and the VINCI Energy business line, in association with BEC, NGE, TSO, Ineo, INEXIA, Arcadis and Egis Rail. Work got under way in the first half of 2012. The MESEA company, held jointly by shareholders VINCI Concessions (70%) and INEXIA (30%), will be responsible for operating and maintaining the line.
Key figures:
- 340 km and 40 km of connections
- 113 municipalities, 6 French départements, 3 regions
- Around 500 engineering structures, including 24 viaducts
- 8,500 jobs for works companies at the height of activity
- 150 permanent jobs to handle commercial service (operation and maintenance) once construction has been completed
- 20 % of the hours worked on the infrastructure project were part of the work integration scheme
- Mitigation of the impact on the natural environment will involve more than 3,500 hectares of offsets
Video “LGV SEA 2015 – Celebration of the end of the infrastructure works“
This emblematic project in London is built by M.V.B, joint-venture between Morgan Sindall, VINCI Construction Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche. The infrastructure – scheduled to start operations in 2016 – will allow to decrease by 40% the proportion of rainwater and waste water flowed into the River Thames without any treatment.
The Prince of Wales went downstairs into the tunnel by taking the Abbey Mills Shaft and met several apprentices and engineers such as Lilia Hanana, H&S Manager (picture).
After the visit, the Prince of Wales was a part of a ceremony where he met François Pogu, Project Director and, Pierre Paré, Chief Financial Officer of British Isles office.
The contract is worth €13,150,000 with Agence française de développement providing funding to the project, which includes the construction of two storage cells and two basins (aerobic and anaerobic) over a period of 18 months.
The confinement comprises two semi-arches, each of which has undergone three jacking operations since November 2012, following extensive remediation work, excavation and construction of foundations at the assembly area located immediately adjacent to the power plant’s No 4 reactor. The final jacking operation was lifted on 24 October 2014.
The following stage will involve assembling the two halves of the confinement structure together, installing all the structure’s systems (ventilation, power supply and control-command), and then pushing the confinement structure over the current sarcophagus, planned for spring 2017. Following that, work on connecting the side walls of the arch and ensuring their tightness will take place in order to fully isolate the reactor from the outside environment. Delivery is scheduled for November 2017. This will create the conditions for dismantling the No 4 reactor sarcophagus in complete safety.
This exceptional project, the first of its kind, leverages the technical expertise and engineering creativity of two of the world’s construction industry majors. It is financed by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) involving 43 donor governments and organisations.
VINCI Construction Grands Projets teams designed and built this two-level, 12,000-m² facility that can receive 1.2 million passengers a year. France contributed €20 million to this project out of total funding of €39 million.
A digital project model was used in the design phase to facilitate structural, technical, and methodological planning. The project was completed 4 months ahead of schedule in time for the 90th anniversary celebrations of Tajik Air. The first passengers are expected in November 2014.
This project showcased VINCI group synergies. VINCI Airports, an international player in the airport development sector that operates 23 airports around the world, provided project management support to the client. VINCI Construction Grands Projets teams designed and built this turn-key facility, including airport systems (baggage sorting, safety gates and scanners, passenger walkways, and more).
Currently, VINCI Construction Grands Projets and VINCI Airports are also working closely together in Cambodia on Phnom Penh and Siem Reap airport terminal expansion projects.
The contract, valued at €22.5 million with Franco-Jordanian funding, includes network equipment supply (machinery, vehicles, and pumping equipment), installation of pumping equipment, and ready access to technical experts.
Franco-Jordanian bilateral cooperation, established within the framework of this contract, was saluted during the signing ceremony held at the Élysée Palace (the official residence of the President of France).
The structure, the largest wastewater storage tunnel in Scotland, is designed to improve water quality and help cope with the risk of flooding in the city and pollution of the River Clyde.
The contract, with a value of €105 million, covers the construction of two shafts with a diameter of 15 metres each and a depth of 20 metres, a 300 metre long cut-and-cover trench and a 5 km tunnel with an internal diameter of 4.70 metres. The technique used will be that of a mud pressure type tunnel boring machine, one of the company’s areas of expertise.
Work will get under way in October 2014 and completion is anticipated in early 2018.
VINCI Construction Grands Projets, one of the world leaders in the sector, has a large number of project references in the field of underground works: the Hallandsås railway tunnels in Sweden, the El Teniente mine tunnels in Chile and work on the Hong Kong metro and the Cairo metro, a new section of which has recently been handed over several months ahead of schedule. In the United Kingdom, VINCI Construction Grands Projets is currently building, in London, the Lee Tunnel for Thames Water and carrying out two Crossrail contracts (C510 and C512) at Liverpool Street and Whitechapel.
In accordance with this US$27.3-million design-build contract funded by Agence française de développement, VINCI Construction Grands Projets teams will deliver an extension of the current station in 30 months. The new structure will produce 260,000 cubic metres of water a day (up from 130,000 cubic metres currently).
In addition, Cambodia Airports, a subsidiary of VINCI Airports, has mandated VINCI Construction Grands Projets to build two new wastewater treatment plants for the Phnom Penh and Siem Reap international airports. These two activated sludge treatment plants with a capacity of 140 cubic metres an hour also include a unit that processes sludge by centrifugation and an odour-removal unit. The contract calls for the construction of both stations in 17 months for a total of US$7.5 million.
These new contracts in the water-management sector provide further evidence of VINCI Construction Grands Projets’ continuing international development, including the development of synergies with other VINCI Group companies and diversification of construction activities in a country where the Group is currently expanding airport terminals at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap for Cambodia Airports.
It was designed and built by a consortium led by VINCI Construction Grands Projets that includes Entrepose Projets and QDVC, a subsidiary of Qatari Diar (51 %) and VINCI Construction Grands Projets (49 %).
The contract, valued at €360 million, was awarded in 2009. Construction was completed in June 2012, which the consortium followed with a two-year maintenance period pending the commissioning of the wastewater treatment plant connected to pumping station PS70.
The consortium delivered the pumping station as a turn-key solution that includes control systems and a 45-kilometre pipeline connecting the pumping station to the wastewater treatment plant.
This project provided several VINCI Group companies an opportunity to work together and leverage their synergies. Accordingly, the project’s subcontractors included: Cegelec Portugal (SCADA design and implementation) and Cegelec Qatar (electrical works), which are both subsidiaries of VINCI Energies; VINCI Construction Terrassement, a subsidiary of VINCI Construction; and WMI (technical support), a subsidiary of VINCI Construction Grands Projets.
VINCI Construction Grands Projets is active in Qatar through its 49 % participation in the QDVC joint venture, which is currently building the light rail system in Lusail, the Sheraton park and underground car park, the south red line of the subway system in Doha, and the New Orbital Highway, a ring road in the Qatari capital.
