Underground Infrastructure

The underground infrastructure sector, particularly tunnelling, is set to enjoy a worldwide growth and period of enhanced investment. Mainland Europe, the UK particularly London, the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Australasia, will see a lot more infrastructure going underground.

This need for underground infrastructure has been enhanced by the increased emergence of "megacities", these are cities with a population of 10 million or more. In 2001 there were only 19 Megacities globally, it is estimated that by 2015 there will be 60, most of which will be in the developing world. With this worldwide development, underground infrastructure is set to be the superior solution, this is because firstly it does not consume so much surface space and more importantly it helps to preserve the environment allowing for sustainable development. If the growth of cities, particularly the megacities, continues, they will all need abundant infrastructure and the demand for the underground will be enormous. In fact, even if a fraction of the projected underground infrastructure is funded, a shortage in skill sets is inevitable and will invariably challenge companies to be highly competitive in order to attract the individuals required.

The global economy is investing billions into infrastructure and a major focus of this infrastructure investment is in the Transportation and Utilities arena, with these comes the need for the use of the underground e.g. rail and railway stations, roads and pedestrian tunnels, water, sewage, gas and electricity. Underground Infrastructure, however, is not limited to these areas, it can also include power plants, nuclear/toxic waste facilities as well as subsea infrastructure.

Tunneling and underground infrastructure projects are currently either on political agendas or are already well into the construction phase, around the globe. Such projects include the £16bn crossrail contract in the UK, the Victoria harbor contract and the MTR contracts in Hong Kong, Sydney Metro and the RiverCity Motorway in Australia, the planned US$60BN pmc infrastructure upgrade in Abu Dhabi, the LTA contracts in Singapore as well as many other multibillion contracts in America and around the globe. With the need for global development, investment in this area is only going to increase further. It is estimated that over 1 billion people have no access to clean water and some 2.5 billion people lack proper sanitary provisions. In order to provide people with these daily necessities and this basic human right, underground tunnel networks will need to be built. Almost every city in the world has a major tunnel providing water to its population and a tunnel network which manages wastewater and sewage.

The utilities industry provides the most extensive use of underground space globally. The expansion and replacement of utilities is a multibillion industry, this demand will be largely met by the development in micro tunneling.

The need to build infrastructure is at a record high, most countries in the world are programming billions of capital investment to provide the groundwork for the cities and societies in which we will live. Major emphasis is being placed on sustainability and the preservation of the environment. This sustainability is not possible without Infrastructure, most often the best form of infrastructure involved is underground. The usage of the underground will in turn help to preserve the environment in which we live, enhancing our health and therefore our standard of living.