Following a day-long conference of presentations by all the worthy finalists of the 2018 series of the ITA Awards, the winners were announced at the gala evening banquet. This year, the Awards event of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) was held in Chuzhou Nanjing city in China and in conjunction with the 20^th CTUC, Chinese Tunnels and Underground Works Conference.

Following a second-day programme of international presentations, the third day provided the opportunity for all category finalists to present the details of their shortlisted projects and illustrate to the audience why each was worthy of the Award recognition. The eight Award categories created a programme of presentations ranging from safety initiatives and technical innovations to projects in three categories of scope and value, from the smallest, but nevertheless complex and demanding, to the largest of more than €500 million in scale for which different planning and implementation skills are required. Next year, the 2019 ITA Awards conference and presentation ceremony will be held in the USA when again, the conference day of finalist presentations will draw together the best of the best from around the world for each of the award nomination categories.

For 2018, the winners from the shortlisted finalists in each of the categories highlight the ingenuity of innovations and the outstanding achievements being recorded in the international field of underground space excavation and tunnel construction.

A large section 10.95m high x 11.9m wide horseshoe shaped EPBM designed and manufactured by CREG of China and used for the first time in the mountain tunnel (China) was awarded the Technical Innovation Project of the Year. The TBM, equipped with multiple cutter heads was used instead of the conventional sequential excavation method with a double lining. Advantages of the multiple cutter head horseshoe-shaped TBM as compared with a single circular cutter head TBM is reduced TBM manufacturing costs, increased utilisation ratio of the tunnel cross section, and a reduced quantity of excavation and construction material.

Members of the Awards organising committee, lead by Mrs Jenny Jinxiu Yan (centre in red), and members of the Judging Panel join the celebration of the 2018 Award winners

For more, please visit https://www.tunneltalk.com/Awards-Accolades-Nov2018-ITA-2018-Award-winners-announced.php