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In recent days, the Conference and Exhibition of the 7th International Tunneling and Underground Space Association (ITA) Tunneling Awards 2021 was held virtually, selecting seven winners among the 24 competing projects and individuals. The Large-diameter shield tunnel engineering project in karst strata of sea area in the Barracuda Bay, a full-line control project of Dalian Metro Line 5, won the award of Project of the Year. The project was invested by the China Railway Group Limited (CREC), designed by China Railway Northern Investment Group and constructed by the First Engineering Bureau of CREC.

On Dec. 2, the 7th (2021) ITA Tunnelling Awards revealed that the project of Dalian Metro Line 5 (Large-diameter Shield Tunnel Engineering Project in Karst Strata of Sea Area) constructed by a slurry TBM named “Haihong” manufactured by CREG (China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co. Ltd.) won the ITA Tunnelling Awards 2021 in the category of “Project of the Year.” This is another world-class innovation project participated by CREG after the project “The Mechanized Method with Large Section Horseshoe Shape EPB TBM First Applied in Loess Mountain Tunnel” won the ITA Tunnelling Awards 2018 in the category of “Technical Project Innovation of the Year.”

MMC Gamuda capped off 2021 with triple international award wins for its work on the MRT Putrajaya Line project, the latest being the Tunnelling Project of the Year at the New Civil Engineer (NCE) Tunnelling Festival 2021, announced in London on Dec 8. This achievement comes hot on the heels of its winning the Major Project of the Year at the International Tunnelling Awards (ITA) 2021 as well as the International Project of the Year at the Ground Engineering (GE) Awards 2021 announced on Dec 2 and Nov 28 respectively.

Through 7 categories, this competition aims to identify the most important ongoing underground works and technologies that help cities change and enable habits and ways of life to evolve in order to build smart and sustainable urban areas. THE WINNERS OF THE 2021 EDITION : • Major Project of the Year (over €500M) - Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) Putrajaya Line Tunnels and Underground Station Works – Malaysia • *2 winners* Project of the Year (between €50M and €500M) - South extension of the metro Line 14 in Paris – France - Large-diameter shield tunnel engineering project in karst strata of sea area – China • Project of the Year (up to 50M€) including renovation– Relocation of Shatin Sewage Treatment Works into Caverns – China • Technical Innovation of the Year - Riachuelo Lote 3 – Innovative method for the construction of sea outfall projets – The Risers Concept – Argentina • Beyond Engineering – Making underground works projects even better – Is shield tunnelling spoil a waste? A novel solution says no – China • Innovative and Contributing Underground Spaces – Lefdal Mine Data Center, where scale and flexibility meet resiliency – Norway • Young Tunneller of the Year – Michael Mains – Canada

Through 8 categories, this competition aims to identify the most important ongoing underground works and technologies that help cities change and enable habits and ways of life to evolve in order to build smart and sustainable urban areas. One of the categories of the competition is focused on rewarding the Innovative and Contributing Underground Spaces. Amongst all of the projects submitted for this category, the panel of judges identified 2 finalists that seem to pursue one common goal : propose new and innovative spaces.

Since 2015, the international competition "ITA Tunnelling and Underground Space Awards" aims to reward the most ground-breaking innovations and outstanding projects in underground construction. Due to the recent global pandemic which impacted international travels, this edition will be held online through a dedicated platform, from the 29th of November to the 2nd of December, where the winner will be elected. Through 8 categories, this competition aims to identify the most important ongoing underground works and technologies that help cities change and enable habits and ways of life to evolve in order to build smart and sustainable urban areas. One of the categories of the competition is focused on rewarding the Project of the Year (between 50 and €500M). Amongst all of the projects submitted for this category, the panel of judges identified 3 finalists that seem to pursue one common goal : managing urban expansion.