Spanish infrastructure major FCC has achieved a key milestone in the construction of a crucial tunnel coming up within Saudi Arabia's ambitious futuristic city project NEOM.

 

The tunnel, which runs 8.7km long, comes within 'The Spine' layer of NEOM's development plan.

 

The Spine is the infrastructure corridor running below the 500-m-tall, mirrored buildings that extend over 170 km, known as The Line, running from the Red Sea coast inland towards Tabuk. 

 

This section is designed to accommodate high-speed trains, transportation vehicles, and freight trains, facilitating seamless connectivity between The Line area and the Oxagon area, which are vital hubs for advanced industries.

 

With work in full swing, the 8.7-km tunnel project now stands 25% completed, said FCC in its LinkedIn post. Some 3,655 people of 39 different nationalities are engaged on the project, drilling at the rate of 1.2 km per month, it added.

 

The tunnel project is being handled by a consortium spearheaded by FCC Construcción with China State Construction Engineering Corporation and Shibh Al Jazira Contracting Company as partners.

 

NEOM had in 2022 awarded contracts to two joint venture groups for the project which is separated by lower and upper geographies, with the first one to FCC consortium and the second to Samsung C&T Corporation consortioum with Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Saudi Archirodon Company as members.

 

These drill-and-blast tunnelling contracts are aimed at boosting the development of one of the world’s largest transportation and utility infrastructure projects, in the kingdom, said a top NEOM official at the contract signing.

 

"Today marks yet another significant milestone for NEOM. The sheer scope and scale of the tunneling work to be undertaken highlights the complexity and ambition of the project," remarked its CEO Nadhmi Al Nasr.

 

The tunnels work will extend over 28 km in length and provide separate tunnels for high-speed and freight rail services - making the movement of people and goods faster, safer and easier, he added.

 

According to FCC, the rock excavated as part of the tunnel construction project will be processed for later reuse within the concrete lining that will be used in the tunnels as well as in other projects, guaranteeing a minimum impact on the landscape.

 

An ambitious project for the kingdom, The NEOM is located in Saudi Arabia’s northwest, on the coast of the Red Sea. It will be home to 'The Line,' billed as a car-free, zero-carbon city with 1 million inhabitants and no roads, laid out as a 170km-long belt with services and transport infrastructure built underground.-TradeArabia News Service