3.2 km tunnel – two underground stations – estimated contract value of EUR 82.6 million

Vienna, Austria – STRABAG SE’s Munich-based subsidiary DYWIDAG International GmbH, leading an international consortium, has been awarded a contract for the extension of the Delhi Metro by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The construction works involve the design and construction of a new 3.2 km tunnel and two new underground stations. Construction is estimated to take 38 months. Tunnelling works will be carried out using a shielded tunnel boring machine, while the underground stations will be built employing the cut-and-cover method.

DYWIDAG International heads the International Metro Civil Contractors consortium, whose other partners are South Korea’s Samsung Corporation, Japan’s Shimizu Corporation and the two Indian construction companies Larsen & Toubro and IRCON International. The contract has a value of around EUR 82.6 million.

In June 2005, the consortium successfully completed a previous contract covering the turnkey construction of the MC 1B section of the Delhi Metro. That contract involved the building of a 6.5 km twin tunnel system – the first of its kind in Delhi – plus six underground stations as part of the expansion of the Delhi Metro. The new stretch of metro was handed over to the client and operations could be commenced eight months ahead of the scheduled completion date. This section of the underground is used by over two million passengers daily.

DYWIDAG has been active around the world in civil engineering, bridge construction, tunnelling and infrastructure for over one hundred years, ten of them on the Indian subcontinent. In this time, the company has successfully completed a number of construction projects in India.

The Delhi Metro
With around 65 kilometres and 59 stations, the Delhi Metro is still in a relatively early stage of development. Work began recently on the Ph ase II extensions, which include plans for a further 130 kilometres and 79 stations for the nearly 14 million inhabitants of the Indian capital territory. Following two further expansion phases, the network is to cover a total of 245 kilometres by the year 2021.

STRABAG SE is one of Europe’s leading construction groups. With nearly 50,000 employees, STRABAG posted revenue of around EUR 10 billion in the 2006 financial year. From its core markets Austria and Germany, STRABAG is present via its numerous subsidiaries in all countries of Eastern and South-East Europe, in selected markets in Western Europe and the Arabian Peninsula, as well as in Canada, Chile and China. STRABAG’s activities span the entire construction industry (Building Construction and Civil Engineering, Road Construction, Services) and cover the entire value-added chain in the field of construction. More information is available at www.strabag.com