SOMAFEL starts operation in Gabon

SOMAFEL – Engenharia e Obras Ferroviárias, S.A. (SOMAFEL) has signed an agreement with SETRAG – Société d’Exploitation du Transgabonais, a company belonging to the French group ERAMET, to carry out ballast correction and heavy mechanical tamping works for the Transgabonais railway in Gabon, a railway line 670 km long connecting the capital city, Libreville, with Franceville, further inland.

The contract is for three years and is financed by SFI – Société Financière Internationale, a member of the Groupe de la Banque Mondiale, by PROPARCO, a branch of the AFD (Agence Française de Développement), and by SETRAG itself.

The contract fits within the development strategy of the French mining and metalwork group ERAMET, which is aiming to develop the manganese and gold mine at Moanda, Gabon, one of the two best mines for these minerals in the world, with long-term deposits.

The preparation works are currently under way at SOMAFEL’s central site in Portugal, including the works needed to migrate the equipment being deployed from Iberian gauge (1,668 mm) to international gauge (1,435 mm).

During May, the necessary equipment will be transported to Gabon, and crews should be mobilised by June and works will start at the beginning of July, both 2019.

This makes Gabon the 8th market where SOMAFEL is currently active, alongside Portugal, Algeria, Brazil, France, Morocco, Mozambique and the UK.

The AEC Cluster signs s Sectoral Pact with the Ministry of the Economy

Last month, the AEC Cluster – Architecture, Engineering and Construction, managed by the Portuguese Technological Platform for Construction (PTPC), signed a Sectoral Pact for Competitiveness and Internationalisation with the Ministry of the Economy. These Sectoral Pacts contain a set of new initiatives in the domains of the digitalisation of industries (i4.0), qualification of human resources, consolidating the country’s factors of external appeal, as well as the internationalisation and promotion of research and development.

The AEC Cluster – Architecture, Engineering and Construction is a platform that brings together knowledge and skills from the Construction sector. It comprises partnerships and networks that are made up of companies, business associations, public entities and non-business entities within the Research and Innovation System, all of whom share a common strategic vision to become more competitive through cooperation and economies of agglomeration. The PTPC has managed the AEC Cluster since 2016.

The signing ceremony of the Sectoral Pacts for Competitiveness and Internationalisation made between the Ministry of the Economy and 3 of the 20 Clusters recognised by IAPMEI featured presentations by the Prime Minister, the Deputy Minister, and the Minister of the Economy. On behalf of the AEC Cluster, the PTPC was represented by Ms Rita Moura, of Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções, S.A., President of this association.

The full photographic report of the event is available here.

Teixeira Duarte wins contract for road tunnel in downtown Porto

On 4 March, Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções, S.A. (TD-EC) and Gestão de Obras do Porto, E.M. signed a work order contract for construction of a tunnel connecting Rua do Ateneu Comercial do Porto to Rua Alexandre Braga, totalling €4,367,613.54 and due to be completed in 365 days.

The works in question are part of the wider project for restoring and refurbishing of the Bolhão Market.

According to the project specifications, there was a need to build an underground road tunnel providing access to the new basements planned for the market precinct. This access will be provided via Rua do Ateneu Comercial do Porto, making use of existing street-level stories and the corresponding stories at level -2 at Rua Formosa.

The works are essential for the operation of Bolhão Market, as the new access will allow entry of goods, exit of products in amounts requiring road vehicle transport, entry for providers of support services to the Market, exit of waste, etc.

• The construction of a tunnel connecting Rua do Ateneu Comercial do Porto to Rua Alexandre Braga, of approximately 120 metres in length;
• The partial refurbishment of the buildings at nos 325, 327 and 329 Rua Formosa;
• The construction of new buildings 2, 4 and 6 on Rua do Ateneu Comercial do Porto and Rua de António Pedro, two levels above the tunnel’s roof slab, replacing the existing buildings that are due for demolition.

The study for this tender was carried out by the Infrastructures Department, but involved the cooperation of other sectors at TD-EC, with a special mention due for the involvement of the Project Department in researching the best building processes, bearing in mind the specifics of some of the work to be undertaken.