By Dr Shahzad Nasim
India needs massive planning and investment for developing new cities, towns, housing, industrial estatesand more importantly its infrastructure. One very important area of planning is the engineering and building of Dedicated Services Tunnels for laying utilities underground and keeping valuable surface area free. The services tunnels are becoming common in most of the developed urban areas globally and are being widely used in Singapore. The city state’s financial hub in Marina Bay is one such model of underground services tunnel. The services include gas, electricity, water, sewerage and telecommunication lines. Compared to the high-cost tunnelling for subways, metro-rail systems and bored tunnels in difficult soil conditions, the services tunnels are a much more cost-effective option. These tunnels, usually just about 2m width x 2.5m high, are constructured using simple “cut and cover” technique.
Benefits
The services tunnel is very beneficial when compared to the cost of regular maintenance of services in developed areas, the “never to be guessed” cost of disrupting traffic in the cities and digging as well as resurfacing of roads, pavements and adjoining areas. Once a dedicated services tunnel is in place, it becomes a regular unobstructive feature of maintenance and repair work as one can walk through these tunnels and attend to the faults and repair and reinstate the services. We believe this option should be adopted from the early days of planning in new urban developments in India. We expect a very sharp increase in construction activities in the country, especially given the urgency to upgrade infrastructure, expand roads, highways, expressways and by-ways as well as construct new buildings, hospitals, education centres and airports. It would be good to start from the drawing board with a service tunnel for each project. Equally important is the forward or future planning of the urban areas and need for infrastructure to incorporate spaces for future expansion of roads, etc.
Technology
Embedded sensors in service tunnels can make it easier to monitor the day to day operations of these critical utilities. The embedded technology is very affordable these days and easier to manage. There is no special need for other technologies to construct these cut-and-cover tunnels. Indian contractors are well equipped for doing such tunnels. The practice of having dedicated services tunnels should start now and should be part of the long-term planning and engineering work for all projects. In about 10, 20 or 50 years, India could have hassle free services tunnel-based maintenance programme while its people enjoy comfortable rides on public transport and drive through the city without disruption to traffic. The usual snarling traffic due to frequent disruptions and due to maintenance work becomes a cost to the Indian economy. It must be noted that there is an element of traffic disruption cost to every economy. It is never estimated or guessed, but there is always a value to time spent in traffic jams. As the Indian economy grows and its people prosper over the years, they would want a disruption free flow of services such as power, gas, water, telecoms and even the sewerage system. There is no doubt that India would also need the best tunneling technology in managing underground infrastructure such as Deep Tunnel Sewerage System and the on-going work on metros/subways. Meinhardt, with its network spread over 42 offices, is documenting relevant experiences which can be adapted to the Indian environment. Today, technology is shared globally for the benefit of mankind. We will soon initiate discussions and dialogues with the Indian government agencies and private sector to share expertise on tunnelling via forums, conferences and seminars. We will focus on both the tunnels for dedicated services and the heavy-duty boring work through hilly regions or under the existing cities.
More offices
Meanwhile, Meinhardt will open two more offices to work on projects in the Maharashtra state as well as in Andhra Pradesh where a massive state capital is being built. The offices will be in Mumbai and a place yet to be identified in Andhra Pradesh. A third office will also open in the coming months in Bangalore, which is the largest hub of multi-national corporations and international businesses. Meinhardt, as an international engineering group, has two offices in Delhi and Chennai with more than 10 site offices managing projects across the infrastructure segments. We believe India’s construction sector will grow by more than double-digit annually, faster than the annual Gross Domestic Product growth widely projected between eight per cent and nine per cent in the coming years.
Dr Nasim is the Group Executive Chairman of Meinhardt Group International Ltd and advisor to Foreign Investors on India.
Fii-news.com.
