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  Mechanized Tunnelling – Technology and Developments for two large diameter projects in Latin America focusing on EPB and Double Shield application

  Sustained economic growth in almost all Latin American countries in recent years has created a favorable constellation of interests for the development of South American transportation and energy infrastructure that has not be seen before. In Panama City a light rail line will be constructed that will be the first of its kind in Central America and will help to alleviate traffic congestion in the capital city. Two large Earth Pressure Balance Shields (EPBs) were used for the construction of a 6.4 kilometer long underground section of the Metro Line 1 in Panama City through demanding subsurface conditions. In the northwest of South America two Double Shielded hard rock tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are involved in Coca Codo Sinclair in Ecuador, for a 25 kilometer long headrace tunnel. The project in Ecuador that will provide electricity to Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, is the largest oversea hydropower project undertaken by Chinese Company. The headrace tunnel crosses volcano-sedimentary sequences with local intrusions of plutonic bodies. The paper will highlight the technical features of the machines based on the specific project and subsurface conditions of the large diameter EPBs and Hard Rock TBMs for two major projects in Latin America.

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