Bangalore, India – The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. B.S. Yeddyurappa officiated the Tunnel Commencement Ceremony at Bangalore’s Underground Tunneling Construction Site at Majestic Station on May 20, 2011. Present at the Ceremony were 80 dignitaries, including Managing Director from Bangalore Metro Mr. N. Sivasailam, Representative from Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Representative from Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi. This marked a significant milestone in the progress of the Bangalore Metro Project. Continental Engineering Corp and its subsidiary CEC International Corp. India Pvt. Ltd. as one of key organizers, also conducted a technical symposium on May 21, as the following celebration event of TBM’s launching for Bangalore Metro.
The Majestic Station is located at the most crowded section of Bangalore City, and this is the first underground section construction work for Bangalore metro. The twin 4.8km long East-West line from City Railway Station to Cricket Stadium in Bangalore City will be constructed at depths of up to 20m below Bangalore City.
The contractor undertaking the East-West Corridor Design and Construct Tunnels and Underground Stations of Bangalore Metro Project – Phase 1 is a joint venture of Continental Engineering Corporation, CEC International Corp. India Private Limited, and Soma Enterprise Ltd.
CEC is a leading contractor for construction of transport infrastructures in Taiwan. It has participated in transport infrastructure work in India since 2005 and has completed many prestigious projects, e.g. 60 km stretch of 4 Laning of National Highway NH-76 and DMRC’s Contract BC-16 recently.
“We are one of the key contractors in Delhi Metro’s tunneling and now we are proud and privileged to have such an important association with Bangalore Metro,” said Ms. Nita Ing, Chairman of Continental Engineering Corporation.
Two new 6.44 diameter Hitachi Zosen Slurry Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) will be used for this tunneling project. The first TBM is launched at the ceremony on May 20th. The second TBM has arrived India and will be ready to begin work next month. The tunneling geological profile is a mixture of soil and bed rock, which requires a Slurry Type of TBM machine equipped with 1200kW cutter head drive power, a First machine of this type in India, to meet such challenge.
“This is the first time that Hitachi Zosen’s TBM is deployed in India. We are appreciative of the cooperation with CEC in this venture and we have exciting plans to expand our investment in India to meet the demand in India’s booming infrastructure market.” exclaimed Hitachi Zosen General Manager of Sakai Factory, Mr. Kazuhiro Fukumoto.
To celebrate the successful launching of Bangalore’s first TBM for the metro construction, Bangalore Metro authority, CEC International Corporation India Pvt. Ltd, and Soma Enterprises organized a technical Symposium on the following day on May 21, 2011, titled, Bangalore Metro Tunneling, TBM Technology and Underground Station Symposium. The highlight of the event was the opening addresses by the Bangalore Metro Managing Director, Mr. N. Sivasailam, and the legendary “Metro Man” Dr. E. Sreedharan, the Managing Director of Delhi Metro. The Symposium was sponsored by Hitachi Zosen Corporation and Telco Construction Equipment Ltd.
This is the first time that South of India held the technical forum with the gathering of 130 delegates across 4 continents, India, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, and Canada representing the expertise in metro planning, tunneling, and modern TBM technology. The symposium concluded with the site tour of the Majestic Station where the first TBM in Bangalore is deployed by CEC and its subsidiary CEC International Corporation India Pvt. Ltd.