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Tunnel boring machine heads to Trojena from Germany

8 January 2025

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Trojena is making significant construction progress on site as it prepares to receive the first of two tunnel boring machines (TBM) in February, which will enable the construction of Trojena’s funicular railway.

On its way from Germany, the 235-metre-long, 2,000-tonne TBM is one of two machines commissioned to bore a twin 3.8-kilometre-long time travel tunnel.

The railway will run through the side of and up the mountain and will take guests from the Mirage Visitor Centre terminal to the Vault building.

The TBM is designed and manufactured by German firm Herrenknecht.

Philip Gullett, executive director and region head of Trojena, said: “This will be the first operating funicular rail system in the kingdom and the steepest TBM-driven funicular tunnel in the world. There is a one-kilometre height difference between the start of the tunnels at the bottom of the mountain to the breakthrough point at The Vault building, so this tunnel drive is not only complex but unique.”

The machine has been procured as part of the Turkish-local joint venture Limak Holding and Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting Company’s contract to undertake the tunnelling and excavation works for the project.

In August last year, MEED exclusively reported that Neom had awarded the joint venture an infrastructure development contract at Trojena.

The scope covers the construction of the time travel tunnel, Mirage freight depot and Vault excavation works in the Gateway cluster of the Trojena development.

The tunnel links the Mirage Visitor Centre and the Vault, Trojena’s centrepiece development.

The Mirage freight depot will be located next to the Mirage visitor centre, providing access to the underground time travel tunnel.

The Vault will be built vertically inside a hollow mountain that will fold in on itself. It will be 198 metres high, 253 metres wide and 864 metres long. The total surface area of the project is 200,000 square metres.

Trojena progress

Trojena will host the Asian Winter Games in 2029 and the construction works have been planned to meet that deadline.

At the MEED Saudi Giga Projects event in Riyadh last May last year, Gullett said: “We have procured 30% of the overall project and are preparing to procure the remaining 70%.

“The whole masterplan consists of six zones. We have already awarded some of the major contracts and the construction works have started on several schemes, most notably the Vault excavation works, tunnelling works, Ski Village and the construction of the dams at the Lake District.”

Launched by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al-Saud, Trojena is set to be a year-round tourist destination. It will include a ski village, family and wellness resorts, retail, food and beverage facilities, and sports amenities such as watersports and mountain biking. An interactive nature reserve is also planned. The project is due to be completed by 2026.

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Yasir Iqbal

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