Two new tram lines in Nottingham
The City Council in Nottingham, in central England, announced on 15 December 2011 that it had awarded the contract for Phase 2 of the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) system to the Tramlink Nottingham consortium. This consortium is composed of VINCI Investments (a VINCI PLC subsidiary, responsible for the development of, and investment in concession contracts), Alstom, Keolis and Wellglade, each with a 12.5% stake, together with financial investors Meridiam (30%) and OFI Infravia (20%).
The project concerns the construction of two new tram lines (total length: 17.5 km), which will be operated within the framework of a 23-year concession. Total value of the project is 680 million euros. It will be financed by a combination of receipts from the sale of tickets and a PFI-type public private partnership throughout the life of the concession contract.
Taylor Woodrow (VINCI Construction UK) is in charge of the works, which will begin in 2012, with the two new lines due to be fully operational by the end of 2014. The contract also calls for the consortium to take over the operation of the NET's Line 1, which has been running since 2004.
"Charlotte" to drive Saverne tunnel
On the route of the second section of the LGV Est Européenne, the baptism ceremony for the TBM due to drive the Saverne tunnel took place on 25 October last. Baptised Charlotte, this TBM (length: 110 m; diameter: 10.07 m) will drive the two 4 km-long tubes of what will be the biggest tunnel of the section linking Baudrecourt and Vendenheim, in the east of France.
This structure forms part of works package 47 for the future LGV (high-speed line), which is being implemented on a design-build basis by a consortium notably comprising Dodin Campenon Bernard (leader) and VINCI Construction Terrassement, both VINCI Construction subsidiaries; the regional entities of VINCI Construction France GTM Alsace and GTM Lorraine; and Cegelec Infrastructures & Mobility (Cegelec GSS Division) and Cegelec Nord & Est (Cegelec France Division), both subsidiaries of the Energy business line, with the collaboration of Campenon Bernard Dodin Ingénierie.
Being undertaken on behalf of RFF, the project calls for the design and construction of 7.5 km of new line. In addition to the construction of the tunnel, it includes the earthworks, and the creation of standard engineering structures and the Haspelbaechel viaduct (270 m).
Total contract value: €184m.
A residential/service sector complex
Wangsa Tegap, a subsidiary of Berjaya Corporation, very recently awarded the construction contract for the first phase of the Berjaya Central Park residential and service sector complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to the joint venture formed by VINCI Construction Grands Projets (70%, leader) and Hitachi (30%).
Worth €76m, this first phase comprises the turnkey construction of a 9-storey podium block, a 46-storey office tower, and the structural construction of a 48-storey Ritz Carlton residential tower. The whole complex will have a total surface area of 185,000 sq. metres.
The works have just started, and will take 27 months to complete.
Makeover for first storey of Eiffel Tower
Bateg (VINCI Construction France), in a joint venture with architects Moatti et Rivière and design office Ginger Sechaud Bossuyt, has won the contract to upgrade the first storey of the Eiffel Tower.
The design-build project, worth €25m, concerns an area of 4,586 sq. metres, i.e. about five sixths of the storey's total floor area.
It calls for the reconstruction of the Eiffel and Ferrié pavilions and the three lift-access buildings, as well as the refurbishment of the façades of the restaurant. In the outside areas, replacing part of the flooring with a glass floor, equipped with a guard rail entirely in glass, will give visitors the impression of "floating in space".
The project will also contribute to reducing the attraction's environmental footprint, thanks, notably, to the use of renewable energies (solar; wind; and hydraulic by putting fresh and waste water through a turbine) and a LED-type lighting system, and the harvesting of rainwater.
The works will be launched in 2012, and take 18 months to complete.
VINCI on top of Les Halles
On 14 September 2011, as part of the renovation programme for Les Halles, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, the City of Paris awarded a consortium composed of Chantiers Modernes BTP (leader), Bateg, GTM TP IDF and Sogea TPI (all VINCI Construction France subsidiaries) the construction contract (structural works and envelope) for the above-ground part of the Forum.
The project calls for the creation of a 13,000 sq. metre structure with plant-inspired curved forms: the Canopy (a term usually referring to the topmost layer of branches and foliage of tropical forests). A translucent envelope unfurling around a patio, the Canopy will shelter two three-level buildings housing public facilities (library, hip-hop centre, music conservatoire, artists’ workshops) and shops.
Valued at 150 million euros, the works will be launched early in 2012 and should be completed by late 2013.
Facility management for the Société Générale
VINCI Facilities (Energy business line) has been awarded the entire facility management contract for its sites at La Défense and Val-de-Fontenay (by Paris) by the Société Générale. The 5-year contract is worth over €20m a year. Principal services to be supplied by VINCI Facilities: relations with tenants (management and follow-up of requests), technical maintenance, cleaning, security and safety, distribution of mail, reception services and the management of the delivery bays. At the same time, VINCI Facilities and the Société Générale have been finalising a framework agreement covering the overall facility management of the bank's sites in at least 14 countries.
Gate opens for business
In the port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, the Gate LNG (liquefied natural gas) regasification terminal was inaugurated on 23 September 2011. Representing an investment of €800m, this terminal was built by a consortium composed of Entrepose Contracting (VINCI Construction), VINCI Construction Grands Projets, Techint and Sener, in collaboration with CFE (and its MBG, Geka Bouw and CFE Nederland subsidiaries), Freyssinet and Soletanche Bachy, subsidiaries of Soletanche Freyssinet (all three are VINCI Construction companies).
The works involved building an industrial plant, three piers for the discharging of LNG tankers, and three LNG storage tanks. Each 50 m in height, 86 m in diameter and with a capacity of 180,000 cu. metres, these three structures were created by Entrepose Contracting and VINCI Construction Grands Projets within the framework of design-build contract.
Croix-Rousse: Breakthrough of the second tunnel
In Lyons (central France), the renovation and upgrading of the Croix-Rousse road tunnel (built in 1952) moved into a new phase on 15 September 2011 with the cutting-through of the second tunnel tube. This structure, 1.7 km long and linked to the existing tunnel by eleven transversal galleries, will enable users to be evacuated in the event of a serious accident; it will be dedicated to "green" transport (buses, pedestrians and cyclists will each have a separate lane).
The design-build contract, worth a total of €172 million, was awarded in February 2009 to a consortium headed by Dodin Campenon Bernard (VINCI Construction), leader, and notably including, for the structural works, Chantiers Modernes Rhône-Alpes (VINCI Construction France), and SBTPCI, and, for the technical equipment, two Energy business line companies: GTIE Transport (VINCI Energies France Division) and Cegelec Infrastructures & Mobility (Cegelec GSS Division). Other entities involved in the project include the design teams of VINCI Construction Grands Projets as well as CMS, Delair CFD, and Sogea Canalisations (subsidiaries of VINCI Construction France) and Cardem Lyon (Eurovia). The design works package was awarded to the Setec engineering design office and the architectural package to architectural firms Strates and Vergely.
The new structure is scheduled to come into service in late 2013, following a comprehensive renovation of the existing road tunnel.
Start of trial run period for Algiers metro
On 8 September, Amar Tou, the Algerian Minister of Transport, inaugurated the start-up of the trial run period (operation on a non-commercial basis) for the first section of Line 1 of the Algiers metro. This period, lasting 50 days, is the last important stage before commercial start-up, scheduled for by the end of the year. It is a time for carrying out the final tests and adjustments. During the 50-day period, the line will operate under real operating conditions, but without passengers on board.
The first section of Line 1, 9 km in length, features 10 stations (from Tafourah Grande Poste to Haï el Badr); it was created by a consortium composed of Siemens France (leader), VINCI Construction Grands Projets and CAF. VINCI Construction Grands Projets was responsible for the civil engineering, architectural fitting out of the stations, electro-mechanical equipment, escalators, ventilation and the smokeclearing system for the tunnel and the stations, as well as the control centre and maintenance workshops.
Breakthrough of the second Liefkenshoek tunnel
On 23 July, in Antwerp (Belgium), after a 17-month drive, the pressurised-mud TBM Schanulleke broke through the second Liefkenshoek tunnel (length: 6 km). Following this major milestone, the works will continue inside the tunnels, notably involving the creation of the connecting tunnels (3 have been completed to date, out of a total of 13), using ground freezing techniques, and 8 evacuation shafts. In addition to the two parallel tunnels, the new infrastructure includes a rail platform made of backfill (4.76 km), a cut-and-cover section (4.27 km) and the existing but never used Beveren tunnel (1.2 km), which has had to be renovated and upgraded.
It is being created within the framework of a PPP secured in November 2008 by the consortium composed of VINCI Concessions, CFE (VINCI Construction) and BAM PPP. This contract covers the financing, design, construction and maintenance for 42 years of a 16.2 km-long dual-track railway infrastructure passing under the Escaut river to link the north and south banks of the port of Antwerp.
The works, worth 680 million euros, are being supplied by VINCI Construction Grands Projets, MBG (CFE) and two companies from the Dutch group Royal BAM, with the participation of Soletanche Bachy and its subsidiary Fontec, both Soletanche Freyssinet entities (VINCI Construction), and CFE subsidiaries (notably Stevens, Engema and Aannemingen Van Wellen).
The new link is due to come into service in 2014.
Paris in a new light
The energy efficiency contract awarded by the city of Paris to the consortium composed of ETDE (leader), VINCI Energies Île-de-France (Energy business line), Satelec and Aximum came into force on 1st July. The aim of this 10-year contract, valued at €500m, is to reduce the city‘s energy consumption by 30%, in line with the commitments of the Paris Climate Plan. The consortium is charged with drawing up the investment programme and undertaking the upgrading, operation and maintenance of the city‘s urban lighting installations (180,000 light sources), traffic lights (1,760 crossroads with traffic lights) and illuminations (300 outstanding buildings).
Inauguration of the business centre for car rental operators
On 23 June 2011, in the presence of Christian Estrosi, deputy and mayor of Nice, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur and Park Azur, the concession-holding company owned by VINCI Concessions (97%), VINCI Construction France (2%) and VINCI Airports (1%), inaugurated the business centre for car rental operators at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (south of France).
Signed in 2007, the contract is in the form of a temporary authorisation to occupy (AOT) public ground for a period of 32 years. It covers the financing (€46m), construction, operation and maintenance of a 60,000 sq. metre building, on three levels, providing some 2,000 parking spaces. The aim is to meet the rapidly growing needs of car rental operators at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, the second-largest centre in terms of turnover, after Roissy, for car hire in France.
The construction works were supplied by a consortium composed of Dumez Côte d’Azur, Campenon Bernard Côte d’Azur and GTM TP Côte d’Azur, regional subsidiaries of VINCI Construction France; the operation and maintenance of the centre have been entrusted to GTM Azur, also a VINCI Construction France subsidiary. As part of the Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur’s efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, the biggest photovoltaic roof in the department of Alpes-Maritimes, comprising 10,277 sq. metres of photovoltaic canopies, is currently being installed on the business centre’s roof.
Representing an investment of €6m, financed by VINCI Concessions and Dexia Crédit Local, this initiative is being implemented by VINCI Construction France and Jean Graniou SIT (VINCI Energies France Division, Energy business line), in association with Fonroche, which designs and builds photovoltaic solutions.
Double success in port of Gladstone
After securing works package 5, worth €190m, in March, of the project to dredge the western basin of the port of Gladstone (Queensland, Australia), Dredging International (Australia), a subsidiary of DEME (CFE, VINCI Construction), and Van Oord Australia were awarded three further works packages (1, 3 and 4) in May.
The works involve dredging several channels, by-pass basins and diversion channels to a depth of 13m. A total of 18.5 million cu. metres of materials will have to be dredged in order to facilitate access to mooring points, loading piers and installations for unloading ships.
Contract value: €415m.
Self-assessing sustainable development
The auto-diagnostic tool designed to enable Group companies to assess their performance in respect of sustainable development was launched in April 2011.
It enables management teams to carry out this assessment in less than a day. This exercise produces a mark and suggests a plan of action. Based on the main international guidelines (ISO 26000, the principles of the ILO, the OECD, the UN’s Global Compact, etc.), this tool, tailored to the circumstances of VINCI’s subsidiaries, takes into account the major aspects of their labour (safety, equal opportunities, etc.), community (civic involvement, contribution to regional development, etc.) and environmental (business and environment, energy, CO2, etc.) policies.
Breakthrough in first Liefkenshoek tunnel
On 16 May 2011 in Antwerp (Belgium), after 13 and a half months of boring works, the pressurised-mud TBM Wiske broke through the first tunnel of the Liefkenshoek project, a 6 km-long structure with an internal diameter of 7.3 m. The Liefkenshoek rail-link project concerns the financing, design-construction and maintenance for 38 years of a 16.2 km-long double-track railway infrastructure, passing beneath the Escaut River to link the north and south banks of the port of Antwerp. The contract was signed in November 2008 by a consortium composed of VINCI Concessions, CFE (VINCI Construction) and BAM PPP.
The works, worth €680m, are being supplied by VINCI Construction Grands Projets, MBG (CFE) and two companies from the Dutch group Royal BAM, with the participation of Soletanche Bachy and its subsidiary Fontec, both Soletanche Freyssinet entities (VINCI Construction). The driving of the second tunnel, by the TBM Schanulleke, is due for completion next July. The new infrastructure is scheduled to come into service in 2013; it will ease
Inauguration of the new Térénez bridge
The new Térénez bridge across the Aulne (Brittany), linking northern Finistère with the Crozon peninsula, was inaugurated and opened to traffic on 17 April. Some 15,000 people came to see for themselves the first curved cable-stayed bridge in France: it replaces the existing bridge, which was brought into service in 1925 and rebuilt in the 1950s, and sets a world record for supporting a curved span (285 metres). 515 metres long and providing 7.50 metres of roadway and two paths reserved for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, it is supported by two 100 metre-high, lambda-shaped towers: leaning over as if flattened by the wind, they emphasise the ‘airborne’ nature of this new crossing. Four years of works were required, the efforts of 150 employees from Group companies*, the deployment of 13,500 cu. metres of concrete and 460 t of steel as well as the installation of 72 pairs of stays, in order to create this bridge designed by the architect Charles Lavigne and engineer Michel Virlogeux.
* Dodin Campenon Bernard (VINCI Construction), lead contractor, Sogea Bretagne, GTM Bretagne and Botte Fondations (all VINCI Construction France subsidiaries) – working in collaboration with several VINCI Construction structural design offices (the design office of VINCI Construction France in Marseilles, Campenon Bernard Dodin Ingénierie and the Engineering and Technical Resources arm of VINCI Construction Grands Projets) –, Freyssinet (co-contractor) and Terre Armee, subsidiaries of Soletanche Freyssinet (VINCI Construction), Eurovia’s Quimper office, and Citéos Quimper and Actemium Brest (two business units of the VINCI Energies France Division, Energy business line).
“Agathe” arrives in Oullins metro station
On 2 March, on the project to extend Line B of the metro system in Lyons (central France), the TBM Agathe, nearly a month and a half ahead of schedule, finished driving the 970 m-long single-tube tunnel, under the Rhône, between the Gerland Stadium and Oullins metro stations.
The breakthrough took place in the presence of Gérard Collomb, mayor of Lyons, and Bernard Rivalta, chairman of Sytral (client). Agathe now has to drive through the station and the rear-end (300 m) of the station. The extension to the line is scheduled to open in September 2013.
Reminder: this project is being implemented by a consortium notably composed of Chantiers Modernes Rhône-Alpes (leader), Botte Fondations, EMCC and Tournaud (all VINCI Construction France subsidiaries), and Dodin Campenon Bernard (VINCI Construction) for the civil engineering, with the participation of Cegelec Infrastructures & Mobility (Cegelec GSS Division, Energy business line) for the design and installation of the ventilation and safety equipment (lighting, infrastructure management systems).
Contract value: €108.5m
A PPP lighting project in Pointe-à-Pitre
The town of Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) has appointed Xeria (VINCI Energies France Division, Energy business line)
to renovate its urban lighting within the framework of a 15-year PPP. The contract includes management of 3,750 light sources, the illumination of 9 sites, traffic lights at 15 crossroads (8 of them to be created), maintenanceof an urban video surveillance system, and the installation of 5 rooftop photovoltaic units with a total capacity of 350 kWc. The partnership agreement also includes the procurement, maintenance, installation and removal of festive illuminations. Axians Antilles Guyane, Citéos Guadeloupe and Eger Guadeloupe (all Energy business line units) are also contributing to this PPP, which covers the engineering, works, maintenance, operation and financing of the project.
Contract value: €36m.
MMArena, a new-generation stadium
The MMArena stadium was inaugurated on 29 January in Le Mans (north-west France), in the presence of French Prime Minister François Fillon and Chantal Jouanno, Minister for Sport. It has taken less than three years since the signing in June 2008 of the 35-year concession contract, involving a total investment of 104 million euros, to complete this new-generation stadium – the first in France to be named after a company within the framework of a naming contract.
Designed and built as a multi-activity venue, the MMArena is located at the heart of a centre of sporting excellence in the town of Le Mans.
It boasts the various facilities enabling it to host sporting and cultural events (shows, concerts, opera) both on the pitch, and around it – where 3,000 sq. metres of function areas are dedicated to accommodating seminars, conferences and film shows.
It constitutes a prime reference for VINCI Concessions and for the VINCI companies who created it: Heulin (lead contractor), GTM Bretagne, Adim Ouest (developer) and Dodin Campenon Bernard, for VINCI Construction; HRC for Eurovia; GT Iris, Actemium Le Mans, GT Réseaux Sarthe, Citéos Sarthe and Axians Le Mans for the Energy business line.
Diaphragm walls in Hong Kong
As part of the creation of the
Central-Wan Chai Bypass, an
underground expressway crossing
the island of Hong Kong from
west to east, Bachy Soletanche
Group Ltd, a subsidiary of
Soletanche Freyssinet (VINCI
Construction), has been awarded
a contract for the construction of
37,000 sq. metres of diaphragm
walls and of ties between 1
and 1.5 metres thick. In order to
enable the Hong Kong marina,
where the works will be located,
to continue operating, the diaphragm
walls will be created
working from temporary artificial
islands banked up in the sea.
The project will get under
way in the first quarter of 2011.
Schools PPP for the German-speaking community in Belgium
On 21 December, the community of German-speaking schools in Belgium signed a contract with PPP Schulen Eupen SA, owned by CFE (VINCI Construction), SKE Facility Management (VINCI Facilities Division, Energy business line) and investment fund DIF Infrastructure II B.V., for the financing, design, construction, renovation and maintenance for 25 years of seven schools located at three sites in Eupen, in the east of the country.
Valued at €146m, the works will involve the construction of some 46,000 sq. metres and the renovation of almost 18,000 sq. metres. They will be undertaken on a general contracting basis by CFE subsidiary Bageci and Bauunternehmung Ehrenfels (an SKE subsidiary). Starting in July 2011, they are due for completion in late 2013. Maintenance, meanwhile, will be supplied by a dedicated company, created by SKE Facility Management and CFE, with an annual budget of €3m.
Standard-compliant tunnels on the Nice bypass
Mid-November saw teams from Eurovia complete the resurfacing works in eight tunnels (15 tubes) on the Nice bypass (south of France). The application, at night, of more than 5,100 t of light-coloured mix (to provide better visibility, and enhance safety and the effectiveness of the lighting) is one part of a wide-ranging programme, involving several Group companies, to bring the 20 tunnels on the Escota network (VINCI Autoroutes) up to current safety standards. Renovation of the infrastructure management systems and high voltage sub-stations has largely been entrusted to the Energy business line (GTIE Transport, Citéos Nice, SDEL Câbles et Autoroutes, Actemium Cannes).
Cegelec (also of the Energy business line) is involved in
renovating the safety equipment in several of these tunnels,
between Nice and the Italian border. The civil engineering
works have been supplied by VINCI Construction France
companies (Campenon Bernard Méditerranée, Campenon
Bernard Sud-Est and GTM Azur), among others.
Launched in 2002, the project represents an investment of
€400m. It is due to be completed in 2012.
Duplex A86 - Acceptance of LV2 section of the tunnel
On 30 September, Cofiroute (VINCI Autoroutes) formally accepted the 5.5 km-long LV2 section, between the interchange with the A13, at Vaucresson, and Vélizy (Paris region), of the A86 Duplex tunnel.
Begun in June 2005, the civil engineering works and the task of equipping the structure were undertaken on a design-build basis by Socatop, a consortium notably comprising VINCI Construction Grands Projets, Eurovia and GTM TP IdF (VINCI Construction France), and by VINCI Energies France (Energy business line). When brought into service in the course of 2011, LV2 will supplement and complete the first section of the tunnel (between Rueil-Malmaison and the A13 interchange), which was opened to traffic in June 2009.
With its two superimposed independent decks (one for each traffic direction), the A86 Duplex will then provide the 10 km-long link-up completing the “super-ring road” round Paris. Construction of the A86 Duplex will have required an input of more than 15 million man-hours, involving the simultaneous deployment of up to 2,200 workers at peak periods. This new infrastructure is the product of a unique expertise in the design of complex structures and the management of large-scale projects, involving extremely sophisticated systems.
Entrepose Contracting finalises its acquisition of Cofor
On 7 October, Entrepose Contracting (VINCI Construction) completed its acquisition of Cofor, the leading company in France in the area of deep onshore drilling (oil, gas, geothermal energy, water) and very deep boring and core sampling operations. It also supplies well and production equipment maintenance services. Cofor employs 123 people and generates an annual turnover of some 24 million euros. Cofor’s entire capital has been purchased jointly by Entrepose Contracting (70%, to be paid in cash), and NGE Energies Nouvelles, which develops geothermal projects (30%).
QDVC to create an underground car park and landscaped gardens in Doha
QDVC, the Qatari subsidiary of Qatari Diar (51%) and VINCI Construction Grands Projets (49%), has just secured a contract to design and build an underground car park and landscaped gardens in front of the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, in the West Bay financial and diplomatic neighbourhood.
Worth a total of 264 million euros, this contract calls for the design and construction of a car park providing some 2,000 spaces, for the use of both Sheraton guests and the general public.
Taking 34 months to complete, the works will include the creation of a maintenance depot and a control room for the future Doha light rail system, as well as three electricity substations, and the landscaping of a 73,000 sq. metre area (fountains, lakes, play areas, restaurants…). And, finally, they will also involve building a cut-and-cover tunnel linking the car park to Doha’s future convention centre, currently under construction.
Entry into service of Rhônexpress
Less than four years after the contract was signed, the Rhônexpress rail link, offering a journey time of less than 30 minutes between the centre of Lyons (central France) and Lyon - Saint-Exupéry Airport, was brought into service at 5:00 am on Monday 9 August 2010. Within the framework of a 30-year concession, the Rhônexpress consortium, led by VINCI Concessions (35.2%), is in charge of the design, financing, construction and overall management of the project, which represents an overall investment of 120 million euros.
The design and construction work was undertaken by Group companies. Campenon Bernard Management, a VINCI Construction France subsidiary, and Entreprise Jean Lefebvre Sud Est and ETF-Eurovia Travaux Ferroviaires, both Eurovia subsidiaries, supplied the infrastructure works, including the creation of five engineering structures and the laying of 7 km of track.
Roiret Transports and Cegelec (Energy business line business units) carried out the electrical equipment works. The first rail concession in France for a service linking a city’s centre with its airport, the Rhônexpress link will operate 365 days a year, between 5:00 am and midnight. It is expected it will carry more than a million passengers a year.
First pier foundation for the Bacalan-Bastide Bridge
On 17 June, in Bordeaux (south-west France), work on the vertical lift bridge that will link the Bacalan (left bank) and Bastide (right bank) neighbourhoods moved into a new phase with the lowering into position of the two bases and the first pier foundation, on which the two right-bank towers will be constructed. It took eight hours to tow each element, and in particular the huge pier foundation (length: 44 m; width: 18 m; height: 15.50 m; 5,750 t) (photo), from the dry dock located at Bassens, 4 km downstream from the worksite on the Garonne. Worth €125m exclusive of tax, the project is being implemented on a design-build basis by GTM Sud-Ouest TP GC, leader of the consortium, GTM Sud (VINCI Construction France subsidiaries) and Dodin Campenon Bernard (VINCI Construction), with Cimolai for the steel framework and EGIS/JMI in association with Michel Virlogeux, architecture and engineering structures, and Hardesty & Hanover on the design side. SDI, a subsidiary of DEME (CFE/VINCI Construction) undertook the preparatory works on the riverbed. Santerne Aquitaine Nord, Citéos Bordeaux and Actemium Bordeaux (three Energy business line business units) have just been awarded the contract, worth €1.65m, for the high- and low-voltage power supply and the video surveillance, automation, supervision and lighting of the bridge.
New sponsorship agreement at the Château of Versailles
Xavier Huillard, Chairman & CEO of VINCI, and Jean-Jacques Aillagon, President of the Établissement Public du Musée et du Domaine National de Versailles (EPV), signed a sponsorship agreement on 28 May. Having undertaken the restoration of the Hall of Mirrors (between 2004 and 2007) and then the construction of a temporary visitor reception centre at the Château (in 2008), within the framework of skills-based sponsorship operations, VINCI is now set to provide financial support for the restoration of the Belvedere and its Rock, a project included in the EPV’s programme of works. Worth 500,000 euros, the donation amounts to half the estimated cost of the works, with the balance to be provided by the WMF (World Monuments Fund), the leading private international organisation working to safeguard the world’s architectural and cultural heritage. The project, due to take a year to complete, will involve restoring the Belvedere’s external façades, the lead roofing of the dome, and the entire interior décor, as well as consolidating and restoring the Rock, an artificial landscape feature adjoining this little gazebo.
Power station
Cegelec Global Systems & Services, the Major Projects arm of Cegelec (Energy business line), in a joint venture with General Electric, is to participate as an official EPC contractor in the design and turnkey construction of a new power station on behalf of the National Electricity Office (ONE). This project, the biggest contract secured by Cegelec in recent years, involves supplying the “Balance of Plant” auxiliary electrical and mechanical equipment and the civil engineering, as well as coordinating these works. Located at Kenitra, north of Rabat, the plant will have three turbines, providing a total output of 315 MW. Its entry into service in 2012, following 25 months of works, will contribute to meeting an increasing demand for electricity. Contract value: €206m (of which €97m for Cegelec).
Start Signal for Cinema City
On 25 March, EuropaCorp Studios gave VINCI Immobilier formal notification, within the framework of their property development contract (CPI), to start work on the future Cité du Cinéma, in Saint-Denis (by Paris). The works, on a general contracting basis, have been entrusted to Bateg (VINCI Construction France), working in association with Lefort Francheteau and Phibor Vital, two VINCI Energies business units (Energy business line), for the technical works packages. The new complex (surface area: 62,000 sq. metres) will accommodate the head office of EuropaCorp, production and post-production offices, the École Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière and workshops for the production of film sets, as well as nine film studios, a 450-seat projection room, a functions space and a restaurant. Value of the works: €103m; handover is scheduled for April 2012.
Brest tramway: A flagship project for Eurovia Bretagne
On 18 March, Eurovia Bretagne launched the works on the first line of the urban community of Brest Métropole Océane’s tram network. On its entry into service, scheduled for mid-2012, this 14.3 km line will cross the urban area from east to west. Boasting 27 stops, it will link up the main residential and business neighbourhoods. Valued at 105 million euros, the project will be implemented by Eurovia Bretagne’s offices in association with ETF-Eurovia Travaux Ferroviaires which, in a consortium with two local firms, have been awarded the entire works: roadways, civil engineering, urban development, tracks and infrastructure. It will be carried out on a sustainable development basis. Among other initiatives, this will involve a carbon assessment of freight operations, recycling of materials, and the environmental management of the worksite in order to reduce the impact on nearby residents (noise, dust, accessibility, etc.).
Eurovia acquires 100 quarries in Europe
Eurovia has just agreed to buy the French, German, Polish and Czech quarries of mining group Anglo American plc’s subsidiary Tarmac. The deal (subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities) concerns some 100 hard rock, sand and gravel extraction sites (annual output: around 30 million tons), employing nearly 1,000 people and generating annual sales worth approximately €150m. This acquisition will enable Eurovia to increase its aggregate production by 40%, complete its supply network in Europe and strengthen its industrial capacity in countries where road construction activity is growing strongly.
Upgrading Tottenham Court Road tube station in London
The joint venture formed by Taylor Woodrow (VINCI Construction UK) and BAM Nuttall Ltd has been awarded a £250m (€282m) contract by Transport for London (TfL) to upgrade Tottenham Court Road tube station in London (UK). The project will result in a doubling of the station’s capacity. In particular, the ticket hall will be extended, the station’s existing platforms and passageways will be modernised, and new station entrances and a new concourse linked to the station will be provided. The contract also calls for the construction of new buildings providing staff accommodation, and a ticket hall for the Crossrail Eastern line (the future urban railway system serving London and South-West England). And, finally, the works will include the area outside the station: improved facilities for road users (pedestrians, cyclists, buses and cars), and a new piazza on St Giles Road. Construction work begins early in 2010, with handover scheduled for September 2016.