Dhafrah' Tunnel Boor Machine: Mission Accomplished

'Dhafrah' TBM: Mission Accomplished   We are pleased to announce that line 5 TBM 'Dhafrah' has completed its mission, whereupon in less than one year it has excavated and built a 7 km tunnel. This achievement was commemorated today, Wednesday 4th May, when the Governor of Riyadh, HRH Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Abdel-Aziz, visited the South Shaft and pressed the button to start lifting the machine’s 10m diameter, 130 ton cutter-head from the shaft and up to the surface, thereby signaling the end of its mission. Accompanying the Prince were three Ministers including the Finance Minister, His Excellency Ibrahim Al-Assaf, the Transport Minister, his Excellency Eng. Abdullah Al-Muqbil, and the Minister of Municipality and Rural Affairs, His Excellency Abdel-Lateef Al-Alshiekh. During the event, a film was shown demonstrating the fact that this achievement would not have been possible without the teamwork and dedication of everyone involved. In the time since Dhafrah first started operating, 541,728 tunnel man hours were worked and only 3 medical incidents were recorded, a statistic that everyone should be justifiably proud of, since safety is FAST Consortium's number one priority.

'Dhafrah' by Numbers 541,728 man hours worked 545,876 cubic meters of soil excavated 4,542 rings installed 45 meters in one day maximum performance 3 medical incidents Initially 'Dhafrah' achieved a daily distance of about 23 meters. Towards the end of the operation, however, she was able to increase productivity to achieve an astonishing 45 meters per day resulting in her finishing her work ahead of schedule. Actual start date 28 Nov 2015 Planned completion date 19 Sep 2016 Actual completion date 2 April 2016 170 days ahead of schedule