Rosali on starting line on Romanche-Gavet project

19 June 2013 - New contracts - France

On 25 April 2013, on the Romanche Gavet hydroelectric development project, being undertaken on behalf of EDF in south-east France, the TBM Rosali (diameter: 4.70 m; length: 207 m) began boring the head race tunnel, starting from the Les Ponants platform and heading downstream. The second TBM, Lilorosa, meanwhile, is currently being assembled in preparation for a 6 km-long drive towards the Livet water intake, upstream. It will take the two TBMs about 18 months to drive the 9,200 m of the future head race tunnel. Dodin Campenon Bernard (VINCI Construction), in a joint venture with Spie Batignolles TPCI, is supplying the civil engineering works on this project, which include, in addition to the construction of this tunnel, a 180 m-high surge chamber, a pressure shaft , a main power station, an access tunnel, an escape tunnel and a whirlpool basin, and a chamber for the transformers.
Worth €107.5m, the works will take 70 months.