Robbins underlines Indian successes

The Robbins Company will be including a display of some of its most successful Indian projects on its booth in the indoor area. The company makes tunnel construction equipment for both hard and soft ground conditions, and has supplied several tunnel boring machines (TBMs) in India in the last few years.

In Madhya Pradesh state, the Robbins-developed method of Onsite First Time Assembly (OFTA) is being used on a hybrid TBM for the first time. The 10.0 m diameter hybrid earth pressure balance (EPB)/Single Shield hard rock TBM will be launched in late February 2011 for the Sleemanabad Carrier Canal, a 12 km long irrigation tunnel through hard rock and soft ground. The OFTA method, rather than shop assembly, is being used by contractor Coastal Projects Limited to save time on the overall schedule and reduce project costs for both shipping and working hours.

Urban tunneling is also being taken to new depths in Mumbai, where a 6.25 m diameter Robbins Main Beam TBM will be launched 83 m below the city in autumn 2011. The urban location will require an advanced continuous conveyor system with a deep vertical conveyor for muck haulage to the surface. The Mumbai Water Tunnel project is vital for the city, which currently experiences significant leakage from its aging lines, as well as contamination of its drinking water during seasonal monsoons.

For more information on innovative projects in India and the world, visit the Robbins indoor booth S.18 at bC India. The booth will be staffed by knowledgeable employees from around the world, and will feature details on challenging projects where Robbins machines have been successfully employed.