At around 10 o’clock on 2nd March in Lebanon, CREG 3.5m Gripper TBM Yasmina broke through, marking the completion of 10.37km Tunnel Drive 2, longest one of Greater Beruit Water Supply Project.

TBM YASMINA was launched on 11 September 2016. Its cutterhead is equipped with 17-inch back loading disc cutters of Wirth know-how. It has not only successfully bored through the tunnel section with minimum radius curves of 300m, but also achieved remarkable advance rates when passing through a 600m curve section featuring complicated geology: peak daily rate of 90.1m and peak monthly rate of 1244.2 m.

The excellent performance of the machine was well recognized by the project contractor, CMC. 
“The TBM is perfect. Even in the complex geology, the TBM also works good. Also, thanks to your people, to your technicians, we could have a good excavation, a good production, very very low breakdown due to the mechanical or other systems of TBM.” said Mr. Giacomo, Tunnelling Manager of CMC.  
“We got the opportunity to visit your country, to visit your factory. We went to China and I stayed there for three weeks to visit your factory and to see your TBMs before they were delivered to us in Lebanon. Also your team, according to me, is a very good team, very professional. And we’re satisfied about that.” Mr. Giacomo added.
The 22km Greater Beruit Water Supply Project consists of Drive 1 (8.10km), Drive 2 (10.37km) and Drive 3 (4.13km) which is planned to be bored by CREG’s two Gripper TBM Lea and Yasmina respectively. TBM Lea made its first breakthrough of Drive 3 in May 2017 and is now approaching to the last part of Drive 1. 
The project is a much-anticipated one is Lebanon. During the interview, one Beruit citizen told reporters, “The project that the Chinese company is doing, digging tunnels, bringing water, I think it’s perfect. I think it’s a solution to this country. The water would come to every house, to every flat. So they won’t have this problem. It’s not that the machines are from China and the people are from China. And they’re doing very good jobs as well.”