INFRA EU 8

www.euinfrastructure.com • Q3 2009

Will crumbling infrastructure and funding shortfalls team up to defl ate Poland and Ukraine’s Euro 2012 dreams? (P30)

GALE FORCE Wind power is picking up momentum, says EDF Energy

Renewables’ Christian Egal (P86)

FAST TRACK The UK has been slow to adapt to high-speed. Is it time

for a new rail revolution? (P36)

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I’m sure I’m not the only person who emits an

audible sigh of displeasure when a TV ad-

vert, most often for a mobile phone network,

starts banging on about how great it is to be

‘connected’. Backed by an irritatingly cute

soundtrack, these ads tend to feature gangs of im-

possibly good-looking people having their already

wonderful lives improved immeasurably by their

ability to stay in uninterrupted contact with one

another. Living in the age of the social network and

the omnipresent mobile phone, being connected

is presented as aspirational. Curmudgeon that I

am, I find it all quite nauseating.

Regardless of my personal antipathy, the

concept of connectedness could be key to the

next leap forward in European infrastructure de-

velopment. Building better networks has the po-

tential to safeguard both our environmental and

economic future. High-speed rail lines are flour-

ishing across much of the continent. As these

networks improve, the train is becoming a truly

viable alternative to short haul flights. The open-

concerted way could help resolve the reliability is-

sues that can dog renewable energy. The wind will

always be blowing somewhere, so it makes sense

to be able to funnel energy from the source to

where it is most needed.

But to make this work will require a far more

concerted approach than we have seen previ-

ously. Governments and planners will need to

cast off their tribal tendencies and embrace a

common future. These are exactly the kind of

projects that the European Union was designed

to facilitate, but which have traditionally been

far too slow to get moving. Things need to

change and we need to start working together.

Forget the TV ads – that’s the kind of connected-

ness I could really get behind. n

Huw Thomas, Editor

ing of the Madrid to Barcelona line allows travel

between the two cities in under three hours. The

train is taking an increasing share of passenger

numbers on the route, as travellers opt to avoid

the many onerous features of air transit for a

comfortable service that deposits them in the

heart of their destination city.

There is no reason why such services

should be constrained by national borders.

There are already international connections on

certain high-speed routes, so a future where

people are able to travel the length of the conti-

nent by fast train isn’t so outlandish.

In energy too, making new connections could

be of tremendous benefit. The huge drive towards

renewable sources of power presents opportuni-

ties as well as challenges. To exploit Europe’s

massive capacity for offshore and onshore wind

power, new transmission infrastructure will have

to be built. If we are starting from scratch anyway,

why not think ahead and construct a truly pan-

European network? Tackling such a project in a

Why building better connections couldrevolutionise Europe’s infrastructure future

Editor’s note3

“Hosting the UEFA Euro 2012football championships inUkraine and Poland is stimulatinginvestment in infrastructure andsupports Ukraine’s continuedeconomic development.”Ukrainian Vice-Prime MinisterHryhoriy Nemyrya (page 30)

“High-speed rail is – or isbecoming – a key driver ofmodernisation – economic,environmental and social; it isnot simply a better, faster meansof transport.” UK TransportSecretary Lord Adonis(page 36)

“Wind energy is the mostdynamic industry all over theworld. Even in this very trickyperiod it is still growing.”Christian Egal, CEO, EDFEnergy Renewables(page 86)

All together now

ED NOTE EUI8:jun09 20/07/2009 10:01 Page 3

36

30

Contents4

42

Regeneration XMatt Buttell looks at how urban renewel schemes are affectingEurope and rounds up some of the biggest projects of the last few decades

86

A new dawn Christian Egal, CEO of EDFEnergy Renewables, tells HuwThomas that the forecast forwind energy is extremely good

Biting the bulletIt’s time to put high-speed trains on the fast track, says UK Secretaryof State for Transport Lord Andrew Adonis

The final countdownWith only three years until the UEFAEuropean Championships, Polandand Ukraine’s infrastructureremains in a parlous state. EUInfrastructure investigates if thefinals are going to be a spectacularown goal, or whether the twocountries can pull off a late winner.

CONTENTS euinfra:june09 17/7/09 15:59 Page 4

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48 Capital investmentGraeme Craig of Transport for London

explains the impact of the city’s congestion

charging scheme

54 Route planningThe European road system requires greater

cooperation, increased innovation and more

investment if it is to respond to 21st century

challenges

56 Paving the wayMike Acott examines how breakthrough tech-

nologies in asphalt could help lower green-

house gas emissions

62 Linking technology to landmanagement

Stig Enemark explains the importance of suit-

able infrastructure and sustainable land ad-

ministration

68 Up to speedRailways created a transport revolution in the

19th Century. As trains and lines get faster and

more sophisticated, are we on the verge of a

new leap forward?

76 In the hot seatACI EUROPE’s Robert O’Meara on how airports

are responding to economic and environmental

pressures

80 Improving the industryRoberto Kobeh González of the Civil Aviation

Authority outlines the industry’s major issues

94 Wind power worksChristian Kjaer asks whether EU wind power will

reach the tough renewable targets set for 2020

100 Breaking new groundDemand for greater collaboration and ex-

change of information is leading to some sig-

nificant construction industry shifts

EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW

66

56

72

Frank Walenberg

Eskil Sellgren

Paving the way

ASK THE EXPERT

46 Per Fredrik Ecker, Q-Free ASA52 Zoltán Pap, Intertoll Europe66 Eskil Sellgren, WSP72 Frank Walenberg, KEMA RailTransport Certification82 Leif Lindh, Combibox

Contents6

74 Daniël Eijgendaal, Deerns106 Klaus Meissner, Terex Cranes116 Michael Bertilsson, Sectra

ROUNDTABLE

118 Paints and coatings


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102 Time to buildAs an academic, Ron McCaffer’s role as

Chairman of the ECI is bucking the trend in

more ways than one

108 A standard processPhil Kidner fills us in on the background of the

TETRA standard and recent advancements in

the communications space

112 State of emergencyThe Association of Public Safety

Communications Officials’ Bob Smith explains

the technological and human challenges facing

emergency responders

118

122 Situation critical126 In review126 Photo finish

IN THE BACK

Situation critical

Paints and coatings

100 Li Shirong

76

In the hot seat

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

60 Steve Harris, Nynas Bitumen84 Jorn Rod-Larsen, Ricochet92 Ricardo Moro, GES98 Eric Thorman, Power Climber

CONTENTS9

112State of emergency


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UpfrontLEAD FEATURE12

operation and Development

(OECD) that the best way

for the UK to tackle its

record deficits was

through spending

cuts rather than by

raising taxes.

The recession

and fears over public

spending cuts have cast a

huge shadow over future expendi-

THE LONDON OLYMPICS are once

again under threat follow-

ing recent government

discussions over

possible cuts in

public spending.

Heated discus-

sions came about

following recommen-

dations in June from the

Organisation for Economic Co-

RUNNINGTHE RISK

As the recession forcesthe UK government to

make cuts in publicspending, fears arisefor the future of the

London Olympics

LOCOG has so far raised over

which is 70 percentof the budget they

set themselves

€0.5 billion

UPFRONT EU INRA:25 June 20/7/09 10:18 Page 12

UpfrontLEAD FEATURE 13

ture and progress of the infra-

structure projects for the Games.

These worries prompted

Lord Sebastian Coe, Chair of the

London Organising Committee

of the Olympic Games (LOCOG)

to speak out in an attempt to

quell any misgivings.

Coe is adamant expendi-

ture on the Games will not be

reduced and is confident that

2012 is in good financial health

despite the tough economic

conditions. Speaking to The

Guardian Coe said the budget

for the infrastructure is

set and is resilient.

He affirmed that

the budget for

staging has

nothing to do

with public

spending and

every penny raised

has come from the pri-

vate sector.

The fact that all the part-

ners and sponsors are already

in place means that there is

likely to be very little impact on

the Games, explained Coe.

LOCOG has so far raised

over half a billion euros

which is 70 percent of the

budget they set themselves

three years ago and allegedly

more than any other host city

has raised.

Coe also emphasised that

preparations are going very well

and that the construction work

is actually ahead of schedule.

This view was also echoed by

Former Prime Minister Tony

Blair earlier in July.

Blair dismissed sugges-

tions that the economic climate

had turned the Games into a

luxury that London could do

without and said that the or-

ganisers had done an “incredi-

ble job”.

He praised the delivery of

the infrastructure and the sta-

diums and confirmed that

London would have still bid for

the Games had they been

aware that an economic crisis

was on the horizon.

These are not the only

problems that London 2012 has

faced recently. Back in June

forensic accountants were

brought in to investigate irreg-

ularities after a €116 million

deficit was identified in the

Olympic accounts.

The investigation fo-

cused on the Olympic

Legacy Directorate

and found that

there had been a

failure to make

provisions for be-

tween €70 million

and €116 million to

compensate those busi-

nesses which had been forced

to relocate from the Olympic

site in Stratford, East London.

This oversight leaves the

agency with a cashflow prob-

lem that could cause infrastruc-

ture projects to be delayed or

cancelled.

A spokesman for the

London Development Agency

admitted that there had been

some “additional spending

commitments” but that the

shortfall could be made up

from savings elsewhere, hence

the worries over future infra-

structure projects.

This shortfall will not only

affect the future of the

Olympics, it also has the poten-

tial to affect developments

across London. More than €23

million a year will allegedly

need to be cut from the London

budget over the next three

years to cover the irregularities

in the 2012 Olympics accounts.

London has been voted 8th in a 2009 City Infrastructure Rankingconducted by management consultancy Mercer. The UK capitalcame behind Munich, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt inthe rankings and the number one spot was awarded to Singapore

Madrid is one of the final four cities to have been shortlisted to hostthe 2016 Olympic Games. Facing stiff competition from Chicago,Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, Madrid is hoping to be selected when thesecret ballot takes place in October this year. Above, Rafael Nadal ofSpain competes against Potito Staracein the 2008 Beijing Olympics

NEWS IN PICTURES

In his white paper energy secretary Ed Miliband has announced hisplans for how the UK would meet its legally binding targets to cutemissions by 34 percent by 2020. He said 40 percent of electricitywould come from low carbon sources including renewables,nuclear and clean coal by the end of the next decade

Coe is adamant

on the Games willnot be reduced

expenditure


UpfrontINTERNATIONAL NEWS14

FORGING AHEAD

DUBAI APPEARS to be attempt-

ing to block the global economic

crisis as infrastructure projects

worth billons continue to forge

ahead. At the start of the year, the

Dubai government announced

that its infrastructure spending

for 2009 would be increased by

42 percent. According to the

Dubai Roads and Transport

Authority (RTA) three major road

projects worth Dh2.9 (€0.5bn)

billion have been approved by His

Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin

Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-

President and Prime Minister of

the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Al Wasl Road, Al Khail Road and

Umm Suqeim Road are all due to

be upgraded and the passenger

capacity of Dubai’s two airports

will be increased from 190 million

to 240 million.

DEVELOPING FUNDS

IN AN ATTEMPT TO ENSURE that

infrastructure projects in develop-

ing countries do not come to a

standstill during the economic cri-

sis the World Bank has launched

two new funds worth an expected

$55 billion (€39bn) over the next

three years. “As developing coun-

tries are facing the trials of the

global economic crisis, it is vitally

important that economic stimu-

lus packages in the developed

world are accompanied by sup-

port to those that cannot afford

multi-billion bailouts,” said World

Bank President Robert Zoellick.

France and Germany will be con-

tributing. “Infrastructure and the

financing of infrastructure is ab-

solutely critical,” said French

Economy Minister Christine

Lagarde at the signing ceremony

for the funds.

GOING GREEN

SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY

efficiency are still hot topics and

given the current economic cli-

mate it is difficult to ignore the

possible cost savings on offer.

However, many people are put

off by the initial cost of incorpo-

rating green building techniques

and the lengthy time frame be-

fore payback.

The Cascadia Green Building

Council conducted the Living

Building Financial Study in order

to gauge whether green buildings

are actually affordable. The results

were released at their annual

event, the Living Future

Conference, which was held in

Portland, Oregon in May this year.

Thirty-six different buildings

across four different climate zones

were analysed according to the

anticipated costs involved in the

Living Building Challenge. The

outcome of the study indicates

that going green is expensive, but

that the cost is significantly small-

er than originally anticipated.

Jason McLennan, CEO of Cascadia

and the author of the Living

Building Challenge said: “It’s time

we rethink how we build – and this

study should open eyes about

what is possible.”


UpfrontINTERNATIONAL NEWS 15

PIPE DREAMS

A €8.1 BILLION DEAL has been

signed to build a 2000 mile gas

pipeline, which will help Europe re-

duce its dependency on Russia.

Currently a quarter of all natural gas

used in Europe comes from Russia,

with several southern European

countries depending almost exclu-

sively on Russian supplies.

The Nabucco pipeline project is

due to become operational in

2014 with an estimated capaci-

ty to pump 31 billion cubic me-

tres of gas from the Caspian Sea

to Austria via Turkey and the

Balkans, bypassing Russia. The

Turkish prime minister, Recep

Tayyip Erdogan, signed the deal

in Ankara along with his coun-

terparts from Austria, Bulgaria,

Hungary and Romania, through

which pipeline will pass. The

Nabucco project aims to avoid

the possibility of more cutoffs,

which recently disrupted sup-

plies to Europe amid freezing

temperatures.

TUNNEL VISION

PRECONSTRUCTION WORKon the

Vic Park Tunnel project in Auckland,

New Zealand is scheduled to start

in August with actual construction

work set to begin in November. The

project is estimated to cost €185

million and includes the construc-

tion of a 440m tunnel beneath

Victoria Park that will carry three

lanes of north-bound traffic and ex-

pansion of the current viaduct to

four lanes southbound.

It also includes the expansion of St

Mary’s Bay to five lanes in each di-

rection, a new southbound bus

shoulder lane and provision of

northbound bus priority. The New

Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA)

has selected a consortium to carry

out the work as part of its Central

Motorway Junction (CMJ) improve-

ments. The consortium includes

Fletcher Construction, Beca

Engineering, Higgins Contractors

and Australian consultancy

Parsons Brinckerhoff.

DOWN UNDER

SYDNEY IS MAKING an important

step towards achieving a clear fu-

ture for its mass transit network.

Design work on the first stage of

the Sydney Metro network is un-

derway and construction is

scheduled to begin in 2010 to en-

able the metro to be opened to

the public in 2015. Tendering for

the project has now taken place

and five major bidders have reg-

istered their interest.

Transport Minister David

Campbell announced that over

€329 million was being spent on

the Sydney Metro in the 2009/10

NSW State Budget. This infra-

structure project will create

12,500 direct and indirect jobs in

the construction industry accord-

ing to Campbell.


UpfrontCOMPANY NEWS16

A NEED FOR ITS

SLOVENIA IS INCREASINGits position as one of

the countries best equipped with ITS compared

to other European countries with advanced

transport solutions. In fact, one of the largest ITS

projects in Slovenian history is nearing comple-

tion. A new regional centre for traffic control and

supervision on motorways and regional roads,

the investment consists of three parts,

and in terms of ITS, the last part is

the most important: the move-

ment of the communication hub

from the existing to the new re-

gional centre Ljubljana, with the

new control centre being built in

Dragomelj near Ljubljana.

Supervision and control systems for

the entvid tunnel, Golovec tunnel and six other

smaller tunnels, the emergency call systems cov-

ering a total length of over 200km, 64 video sur-

veillance cameras with subsequent upgrading,

radio equipment, LAN and SDH communication

equipment, telephony and traffic information cen-

tre are being moved to the new centre, where a

new video wall and integrated SCADA system is

being installed to enable supervision over all the

systems in the control centre. In addition to intelli-

gent systems, the necessary cable infrastructure

is also being upgraded.

Iskra Sistemi and its partner won the contract

in December 2008. The project completion date is

end of June 2009, to be extended somewhat due to

the project design modifications and subsequent

supplements. Apart from project design modifica-

tions, its implementation is extremely demanding –

also on account of the movement of systems in

phases as the safety of motorway traffic

depends primarily on the operation of

individual systems. For the reasons

of safety, some of the systems,

such as SCADA, emergency call

systems and video surveillance

will be duplicated for a while, and

will simultaneously operate in the old

and new centre. Personnel, permanently

operating these intelligent transport systems, will

move together with the systems.

Slovenia is not large in size, but this invest-

ment is important for its strategic position as

major European transport routes cross its territo-

ry. As transit through this country keeps increas-

ing from year to year, and with traffic volume

growing, ITS systems are needed to contribute to

the necessary safety. Iskra Sistemi, with its 60-

year tradition in road traffic solutions, contributes

a significant share.

For more information please visit www.iskrasistemi.si

One of the

ITS projects inSlovenian history

is nearing completion

largest

TEN POLISH AIRPORTS are to

receive approximately €0.5 bil-

lion worth of aid granted by the

national, regional and local authori-

ties. The support measures are for

the existing small regional airports

near Poznán, Rzeszów, Krakow, ód and

Bydgoszcz, and for future airports to serve

Lublin, Modlin, the Podlasie region, Olsztyn-

Szymany and Zegrze Pomorskie. The aid will

be used to help with the construction of new

terminal buildings and more modern runways

and is available in the form of subsidies, transfers

of land and equipment, or injections of capital. Small

regional airports will benefit from full subsidies, whilst

those medium-sized airports such as Pozna and Krakow

can claim up to 76 percent of the costs. The measures will

be co-financed by the European Regional Development

Fund to the tune of around €192 million.

TETRA NETWORK USER ORGANISATIONS often

have differing dispatching structures and different

data-applications, factors that need to be taken

into account when radio profiles are being

planned. As a rule, the radio configuration can be

frozen and only when new features are added is

there a need to make changes to it. However, some

organisations need to frequently change their in-

ternal work processes and structure as a natural

part of what they do and this can lead to a situa-

tion where it is just about impossible to make a

fleet map containing all current and future needs.

A solution to this problem is Mentura’s ROCS

(Role Oriented Communications Server), which uses

dynamic grouping and virtual numbering to give an

organisation the freedom to change its structure at

any time, reduce cost of PMR and improve efficien-

cy of operations.

When ROCS is employed, a subscriber can use

any radio from the organisation’s pool of radios. The

radio will dynamically receive the user’s personal

number, task related numbers and talk groups

based on both the tasks he is assigned to and his

role. As radios are shared, the organisation can op-

timise the investment to radios (no role specific ra-

dios needed). Therefore, it is no longer necessary to

know the specific identity or name of person on a

job – the call is made based on a functional number

and the alias identity.

Each process can also be assigned to a dy-

namic talk group, and all personnel assigned to the

process are automatically added to that group,

thereby allowing authorised users to request to join

a process’s talk group, or send information to the

team easily.

CONFIGURING IT OUT

For more information please visit: www.menturagroup.com

FLYING START FOR POLAND


ISKRA AD.indd 1ISKRA AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:48:5925/6/09 11:48:59

MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTSare exciting if you like con-

struction, but when you see some of the projects that we un-

dertake – the Vasco de Gama bridge, for example, or the

bridge we built recently in Normandy – there is a certain thrill

in doing them. In terms of the backlog, it’s the highest it’s ever

been. The reason for that I suppose is that we are a business

of choice for customers. They’ll come to us because we are a

benchmark for major project capabilities across the world.

Some of the most recent developments that we’ve

been selected to design and construct include the world’s

longest causeway between Qatar and Bahrain, which rep-

resents 27 miles of road over water, the longest stretch in

the world. Elsewhere in the Middle East, we’re also involved

in the building of dams – the Naga Hammadi dam in Egypt

and the Wadi Dayqah dam in the Sultanate of Oman. In

Russia we’re working on the containment structure at

Chernobyl; we have carried out some of the original build-

ing of the sarcophagus, and now we’re building the com-

plete shelter that will contain the damaged reactor over the

long-term. We’re also laying the foundations for the Russia

Tower in Moscow, planned to be the third-tallest building in

the world.

We also take the whole issue of sharing best practices,

sharing information and networking very seriously. We are

a diversified group that carves out its business through a

huge range of subsidiaries. It’s obviously important that you

can pass information around and innovate effectively, and

also that you communicate those ideas internally. We re-

cently set up an innovation programme where the best ideas

are brought forward every two years and highlighted at a big

public ceremony and put forward for an innovation prize, to

help encourage this kind of knowledge transfer.

The construction industry is all about human re-

sources and it’s the most important component of the

business. Vinci consists of 158,000 employees, and in

2008 we recruited 17,000 new ones. We’re one of the

largest employers in the world, so you can imagine the HR

challenges that come with recruiting 17,000 new employ-

ees in a year. Nonetheless, human resources and devel-

oping people is the key to our success.

We’ve always been a construction firm, and ‘construc-

tion’ is a term that covers numerous different areas – it can

mean engineering, it can mean building, it can mean civil

engineering. We’re involved in everything. We put up build-

ings, we construct bridges, we lay out transmission sys-

tems, we build utilities, pipelines, and so on. We do it all.

JOHN STANION, The Chairman andChief Executive of VINCI PLC, theworld’s largest construction firm,offers insight to the key principlesbehind the company success.

UpfrontIN MY VIEW18


MSA AD.indd 1MSA AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:50:0025/6/09 11:50:00

WONDROUS TECHNOLOGY? HOT STUFF length with a power up to 360W/m

rail with only one feeding point.

Double insulated elements

without braiding and covered with

one metre long stainless steel profiles

are fitted to the rail with spring steel

clips. This gives a reliable application

with good heat transfer and insur-

ance against signal errors and electri-

cal shock. Combined with switchgear

rod heaters connected at stock-rail el-

ements end, Switchpoint Heating

AB’s systems are a flexible product

which are easy to design and use.

The system has a four-way

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mote locations.

For more information seewww.switchpointheating.se

AS INTERCONTINENTAL high-speed

trains begin to compete with air traf-

fic in moving people and cargo, safe-

ty and reliability are keywords.

High-speed trains need long switch-

points to maintain speed and max-

imise efficiency.

In 1998 a group of railway com-

panies and suppliers in Europe initiat-

ed a cooperation to reduce power

consumption and improve materials

and methods of switchpoint heating.

Switchpoint Heating AB has been

a part of this group since the beginning

and this has contributed to several

new products made to ensure

smooth traffic in any weather.

Combining functionality with suffi-

cient power fixed where it’s most

useful is the optimal way of provid-

ing protection against ice and snow.

Switchpoint Heating AB’s system is

based at self-limiting, constant

wattage flexible ele-

ments up to 25

metres in

WONROS (Wear Out and Noise

Reduction on Source) technolo-

gy deals with the use of the so

called HFC (Heavily Fluid

Composite) compounds and ap-

plicators, to create devices for

distribution for HFC materials,

intended for reduction of wear

and tear and noise production

of machinery operating, partic-

ularly on rails, under ex-

treme conditions.

On the one

side, serious

competition

among

providers of ser-

vices and aggres-

sive marketing of

them, and on the other,

requirements for efficient action

in accordance with all regulations

and investment possibilities,

place infrastructure managers in

an unenviable position. Due to

high ecologic and economic stan-

dards, the railway infrastructure

managements also face dilem-

mas of which measures to adopt

in certain situations, where

breach of European legislature in

the field of noise can result also in

civil action for damages against

the railway companies.

With the development of

WONROS technology, remedy of

considerable noise production,

caused by interaction between

the rail and the wheels especial-

ly on rail curves, is possible.

Noise generated by friction be-

tween the wheel and

the rail is the result

of torsion friction,

which causes

heavy wear and

tear. It is thus a

simple conclu-

sion that by re-

ducing the noise,

the wear decreases si-

multaneously. Furthermore, this

means that by remedy of noise

issues, the legislature is ad-

hered to and relatively high sav-

ings in terms of costs of

maintenance (significantly de-

creased LCC of rails) are also

achieved. Return on the applica-

tion investment, supported by

WONROS technology, is expect-

ed within a year or two.


HFC Rail Applicators type CL-E1ws

Byreducing the

the wear decreases

simultaneously

noise

SOLAR LACKS POWER

MAKERS OF SOLAR POWER CELLS

will suffer this year according to an-

alysts at two big banks. This is bad

news for investors who are expect-

ed to learn that solar companies

have not done as well as expected

when profits are announced. It is

likely that forecasts for the rest of

the year will be lowered as a result.

Declining prices for photo-

voltaic systems has been blamed

on fierce competition for cus-

tomers during the economic cri-

sis and the lack of financing

available for new projects.

In a recent report Steve

O’Rourke, a solar analyst at

Deutsche Bank wrote that the

lower prices have led to customers

delaying purchases in the hope

that they can benefit from further

reductions in the coming months.

To find out more please visit www.wonros.eu or www.elpa.si


SWITCHPOINT AD LOW RES.indd 1SWITCHPOINT AD LOW RES.indd 1 8/7/09 14:32:158/7/09 14:32:15

EARLIER THIS YEAR the

EU Commission pre-

sented plans to move

towards a maritime

space without barriers.

By streamlining cus-

toms procedures for

ships travelling from

one EU port to another

it is hoped that lengthy

delays and increased

costs can be avoided.

Unlike road and

rail transport, shipping

from one EU country to

another is considered

international trade be-

cause a country’s terri-

torial waters only

extend 22 kilometres

from shore. Beyond that

distance, a ship enters

international waters.

Transport Minister

Antonio Tajani believes

the plan will make mar-

itime transport more

competitive, in turn ben-

efiting the overall econo-

my. An important source

of jobs and revenue for

Europe, ships carry

about 40 percent of the

EU’s internal trade and

almost all external trade.

TRAFFIC CONTROL is one of the most current is-

sues in the infrastructure industry. Two important

subjects in this industry are rail inspection and li-

cense plate recognition. The current develop-

ments in rail inspection outline the complexity of

these subjects. Dutch Railways still inspects its

rails manually, and while this method might sound

outdated, it is still the most reliable. There’s only

one reason: the alternative. Automatic Camera

Inspection is extremely complex. Only the most

experienced and technically grounded lighting

professionals are able to develop a system that

equals the quality of manual inspection.

Vision Light Tech (VLT) is currently working on

the most complex part of the camera inspection

system: the illumination. A constant amount of

light is required for automatic inspection. It should

(preferably) resemble the natural light on a sunny

day. Illumination does not revolve around light on

its own. It also encompasses the use of filters and

lenses. Only an optimised combination of these

INSPECTION COMPLEXITY

EUROPE’S ROADS AND SKIES are becoming in-

creasingly saturated as the population becomes

more mobile. Policymakers are expected to ap-

pease the situation by building new road and rail in-

frastructure to cope with the increasing congestion.

However, stakeholders have argued that this

course of action alone is not the solution and bet-

ter use and management of our existing infra-

structure should be a major priority.

Sylvain Haon, rapporteur on the urban trans-

port workshop underlines the fact that particu-

larly in urban areas there is a limited amount of

space available for transport and simply build-

ing new infrastructure is not always an option.

The lack of congestion of previous years has

meant that thoughts on sharing infrastructure

have not really been a priority, as underlined by

Marco Sorgetti, rappor-

teur on the freight

transport workshop.

Sorgetti has

called for rules to be

defined on

“who has

priority over who and under what circumstances”

regarding the use of infrastructure and Antonio

Preto, Head of Transport Commissioner Antonio

Tajani’s cabinet, believes that the issues of age-

ing and behavioural change, transport energy

sources and environmental pollution also need to

be addressed.

Better transport links to countries neighbour-

ing the EU were also called for by Trevor

Garrod, the rapporteur

on the passenger trans-

port session.

SMOO

THSA

ILING

three elements enables a high and constant light

quality, which is necessary to reach similar or even

better results.

The challenge for VLT is to achieve a high as

possible contrast. The higher the contrast, the

clearer the image. For example, with license plate

recognition, there are several organisations with

various reasons for checking out vehicles. The gov-

ernment does not just check speed, but is also in-

terested in country of origin, truck loads and other

information that can be traced by codes on vehi-

cles. Naturally these codes and license plates

come in all sorts of colours and shapes.

Recognition is also hampered by influences such

as speed, weather conditions and pollution; more-

over it is not in the driver’s best interest to distract

him with sudden light flashes, and because of all

these issues the control devices require a certain

invisibility. There are many factors that need to be

considered. VLT’s key focus is to offer an optimised

combination of light, lens and filter offering the

highest contrast for every situation imaginable.

For more information please visit www.visionlighttech.com

FAST FACT

MAKING THE MOST OF INFRASTRUCTURE


of all the windenergy in

Europe blowsover the UK,making it an

ideal country forsmall domestic

turbines

40%


VLT.indd 1VLT.indd 1 25/6/09 11:53:5525/6/09 11:53:55


SAFETY FIRST

FIRE-RELATED RISKS are begin-

ning to raise concerns within the

industry, as the number of in-

stalled wind turbines around the

world increases. DNV now investi-

gates fire safety related problems

through the identification of fire-

related risks in wind turbines.

“The main reasons for the oc-

currence of fires are failures in the

transformer, a component failure in

the electrical system or in the brake

system,” says Lars Schiøtt

Sørensen, Senior Engineer with

DNV. “DNV can help producers as

well as contractual clients in the wind

energy area to cover such risks.”

As number and size of off-

shore wind farms increase, it is

also necessary to focus on fire

safety aspects in transformer sta-

tions installed in conjunction to

the wind farms (figure A).

In transformer stations, the fire

risks can be related to overheating

of hydraulic systems, failure in light

arch protection systems and heat

generation from coil effects in a

bunch of cables to name but a few.

DNV has initiated a Joint Industry

Project (JIP) to address Safety

Requirements for Offshore

Transformer and Accommodation

platforms. The standard includes a

chapter about Fire and Explosion

Protection requirements in order to

mitigate the fire risk level. The DNV

offshore standard is expected to

be published by end of 2009.

Two types of accommodation

platforms are described in the

standard: platforms shared by

power equipment and accom-

modation space (see figure B);

platforms with separate power

equipment and accommodation

platforms, connected by a

bridge (figure C).

Both types of platforms can

be designed for temporary as well

as permanent accommodation.

Therefore, it is of great importance

to deal with fire safety aspects. The

relatively high number of risks, in

combination with the presence of

people and a long distance to the

shore further indicate the need for

assessment on safe areas, tempo-

rary refuges and evacuation.

BRIDGING THE GAP

A NEW BILL that has been

passed by the Danish Parliament

will allow the construction of a

bridge over the Fehmarn Belt be-

tween Denmark and Germany.

An overwhelming majority

voted for the bridge, which is

expected to be built with two

railway tracks and a four-lane

motorway, taking motorists

approximately 12-15 minutes

to cross.

Construction is expected to

commence in 2012 and to be

finished in 2018 at a total cost of

€4.43 billion.

At 20 kilometres, it will be

Denmark’s longest bridge over

water and will replace the

current hour-long ferry

crossings that link Denmark

and Germany.

Transport Minister Lars

Barfoed said the vote is “an his-

toric decision that will connect

the Nordic region – and thus

Denmark – with the rest of the

European continent.”

IN 2007, there were 2566 persons killed

or seriously injured in railway accidents

in the EU-27, which is comparable to the

2006 value and represents an estimated

19.7 percent decrease compared to

2005. Countries with the most railway ac-

cidents in 2007:

TOP 10

32

54

1

87

109

6

Poland

Germany

France

Romania

Slovakia

Hungary

Italy

Spain

Czech Republic

UK

NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS

COUNTRY (% OF TOTAL)

944

(31.2%)

489

(16.1%)

413

(13.6%)

283

(9.3%)

270

(8.9%)

154

(5.1%)

133

(4.4%)

123

(4.1%)

1152

(3.8%)

107

(3.5%)

(a)

Type A (1)

(b)

Type B

(c)

Type C Type A (2)


DNV AD.indd 1DNV AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:47:0625/6/09 11:47:06


RENEWABLE ENERGY GETS SECOND WIND

TWO HUGE OFFSHORE WIND FARM

PROJECTS in the UK which had been

shelved due to the credit crunch, weak

pound and high construc-

tion costs could finally

go ahead following a

government an-

nouncement in

April that further

subsidies would be

made available.

The two farms will

have an estimated build

cost of €3.5 billion, but are vital to the

UK’s efforts to meet the 2020 renew-

able targets.

Centrica will make a decision as

to whether or not to go ahead with

its Lincolnshire project by the end

of September. If it does become re-

ality the farm could gener-

ate enough energy to

power two cities the

size of Cambridge.

RWE npower

will also decide

whether to build

its €2.6 billion pro-

ject in North Wales,

which, if built, will be one

of the largest projects in the world.

The company is almost certain to

build the project now that subsi-

dies have been boosted.

In June we launched the first issue of our sister title US Infrastructure. Init we looked at PRESIDENT OBAMA’s American Recovery andReinvestment Act which promises a major boost to infrastructure funding.We also explored the decline of American infrastructure from collapsedbridges to leaking dams.

To read more of the stories from this issue, head to www.americainfra.com

A GLOBAL SERVICE

Net Technologies,who specialise in

telecommunication, mobile and

wireless networks as well as mobile

applications, has renewed the ser-

vice product portfolio in TETRA ser-

vices. The new TETRA services

include radio planning also in pre-

bid stages, managed services, as

well as the already familiar services

such as radio planning, network de-

sign, roll out management, NOC,

training, turn-key-solution and op-

erations and maintenance services.

In this fast evolving environ-

ment, new TETRA network deploy-

ments should consider two main

factors: cost of deployment and

network efficiency that will provide

solutions to all requirements set

by the potential users. In order to

achieve the optimum

tradeoff between

these two strug-

gling aspects,

the initial Radio

(RF) Planning,

a process that assists preserving

an efficient cost control during the

lifetime of a TETRA network pro-

ject, from planning phase to actual

network deployment, should be

carried out. “Our driving force in re-

newing our service portfolio has

been our customers needs,” states

Dimitris Androutsopoulos, CEO of

Net Technologies. “As the TETRA

field keeps evolving, our cus-

tomers are faced with harder eco-

nomical situation combined with

deployment cost.”

The markets have clearly cho-

sen TETRA as the preferred commu-

nications technology in several

industry sectors worldwide. The rea-

sons are simple: deployment cost is

approximately the same compo-

nent-wise, with great advantages

of TETRA compared to analogue

systems in terms of economies

of scale, competition, and life

cycle cost. To the markets,

TETRA technology seems to

be the solution to long-

standing problems in security,

availability and quality.

For more information go towww.nettechn.com

The two projects

will cost

in total

€6.1billion

FAST FACTThe G8 countries

have committed tolimiting global warming

to 2°C and reducingtheir greenhouse gas

emissions

by 205080%

Source: European Commission

HOT OFF THE PRESS


NET TECH AD.indd 1NET TECH AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:50:4525/6/09 11:50:45

Companies in this issue are indexed to the first page of the article in which each is mentioned.

Airport Consulting Vienna 8Association of Public SafetyCommunications Officials 112BAA 102BOMAG 35Catus Automation IBCChartered Institute of Building 100Cleartone 108Combibox IFC, 82Cummins 71Danvest Energy 91Decauteur Electronics 65Deerns 74, 75DNV 24, 25EADS 108ECI 102EDF Energy Renewables 86Ekahau 115Elpa 20, 67European Wind Energy Association 94Global Energy Services 92, 93

Hoffman Mineral 118, 121Intertoll Europe 52, 53Iskra Sistemi 16, 17Kema Rail Transport Certification 72, 73Mentura Group Ltd 16, 111Motorola 108Moxa 80MSA 19NACO 78National Asphalt Pavement Association 56Net Technologies 26, 27Nynas 60, 61Optelecom-NFK, Inc. 63Power Climber 98, 99Q-Free 46, 47Ricochet 11, 84Sectra 116, 117Selex 108Sepura 108Simtra 58

Speedar 55SwitchPoint Heating 20, 21Terex-Cranes 106, 107TETRA Association 108Total 102Transport for London 48Transoft Solutions 2, 51Tikkurila 5, 7, 118Verderflex 127Verint 125Vision Light Technology 22, 23WSP Group 66, OBC

FUNDAMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS

WIND POWER WORKS

Christian Kjaer askswhether EU wind powerwill reach the toughrenewable targets

CAPITAL INVESTMENT

Graeme Craig ofTransport for Londonexplains the impact ofthe city’s congestioncharging scheme

DON’T MISS...

42

48

94

COMPANY INDEX Q3 2009

UpfrontCOMPANY INDEX28

REGENERATION X

Matt Buttell looks athow urban renewalschemes areaffecting Europe

CURRENTLY THE BIGGESTinfrastruc-

ture financing operation in all of

Europe, the construction of the

Capital Airport Berlin Brandenburg

International BBI had a huge boost in

June as Berlin Airports finalised loan

contracts with eight banks.

The biggest investment is to

come from the European Investment

Bank (EIB), which will be granting ¤1bn

of the total €2.4bn amount.

The Berlin-Brandenburg region

formerly had three airports:

Schönefeld, Tegel and Templehof.

The location of both Tegel and

Templehof meant that expansion

was not an option, leaving

Schönefeld as the front-runner.

In the course of expansion into

BBI, Schönefeld Airport will be ex-

tended by an area measuring 970

hectares. In total, the new airport

will cover the equivalent of 2000

football pitches.

The expansion has also necessi-

tated the relocation of two separate vil-

lages. The relocation of Diepensee was

completed in December 2004, and the

partial relocation of Selchow was suc-

cessfully carried out in July 2005.

Tempelhof Airport was closed

on 30 October 2008. This will be fol-

lowed in 2011 by the closure

of Tegel Airport when

all air traffic will flow

through the new

Capital Airport Berlin Brandenburg

International BBI. Matthias

Platzeck, Prime Minister of the

State of Brandenburg believes that

the BBI represents a unique chance

to integrate Berlin and

Brandenburg in the global air traffic

streams of the globalised economy.

Prof. Dr. Rainer Schwarz, Chief

Executive Officer of Berlin Airports

said: “The BBI project has really

gained momentum this year. Our

goals are ambitious, but by 2011 the

Berlin and Brandenburg region will

have a high-performance, world-

class airport which will enable us to

position Berlin up there amongst

the top 10 leading

aviation locations

in Europe.”


INVESTMENT PROJECTS FOR EURO 2012 IN POLAND

IN JUNE THIS YEAR the Council of the European

Union adopted the Nuclear Safety Directive, which

is a major step towards achieving a common legal

framework and a strong safety culture in Europe.

This makes the EU the first major regional nu-

clear actor to provide binding legal force to the main

international nuclear safety standards, namely the

Safety Fundamentals established by the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the

obligations resulting from the Convention on

Nuclear Safety.

“Nuclear safety is an absolute priority for the

EU,” said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

“This Nuclear Safety Directive brings legal certain-

ty by clarifying responsibilities and provides in-

creased guarantees to the public as required by EU

citizens. It sets binding principles for enhancing nu-

clear safety to protect workers and the general pub-

lic, as well as the environment. Continuous

development of nuclear safety is a responsibility

not just for Europe, but for the world; not simply for

us but also for coming generations.”

An enlarged EU will undoubtedly require a

common approach to guarantee the highest level

of nuclear safety, especially considering that the

EU has the largest number of nuclear power plants

in the world.

Many of the member states are planning in-

vestments or life extensions of nuclear power

plants in order to meet the growing electricity de-

mand, improve security of supply and tackle cli-

mate change.

The Directive requires member states to set

up and continuously improve national nuclear

safety frameworks. It also enhances the role and

independence of national regulatory authorities,

confirming license holders the prime responsibili-

ty for nuclear safety. Member states are required

to encourage a high level of transparency of regu-

latory actions and to guarantee regular indepen-

dent safety assessments.

With the adoption of this Directive Europe

could become a real model for the rest of the world

in a context of renewed interest in nuclear energy.

THE AGGREGATE VALUEof construction investments in transport, sports, hotel and telecommunications infra-

structure and facilities related to the organisation of Euro 2012 in Poland is estimated at almost PLN 95bn (€21bn)

Source: Euro 2012 in Poland and Urkraine, Construction Investments. PMR Publications, a division of PMR, 2009

MAKING NUCLEAR SAFE

UpfrontCOMPANY NEWS 29

TOP 10

32

54

1

87

109

6

Luxembourg

Iceland

New Zealand

Italy

Canada

Cyprus

Germany

Australia

Malta

Switzerland

HIGHEST CAR OWNERSHIPNumber of cars per 1000 population

647

632

607

595

561

550

550

542

523

520

Source: CDC

3%Air transport

4%Hotels

7%Stadiums and

training centres

32%Rail transport Total: PLN 94,7bn

52%Road transport

2%Telecommunications


pril 19 2007 was a big day for the people of Ukraine and

Poland. When the news came in that the countries’

joint bid to host the 2012 UEFA European Cup had been

successful, there was wild rejoicing on the streets of

Krakow and Lviv. That these nations, often uncharita-

bly viewed as poor relations of their neighbours further

west, had beaten four-time World Cup winners Italy in

the competition only made the victory sweeter.

Not since the fall of communism will there have been so much attention fo-

cused on these countries. For a month in 2012 thousands of football fans will

flock to the east of Europe, while further millions will be glued to their television

sets across the world. Running a successful European Championship can real-

ly put a place on the map.

Quite aside from the kudos generated by playing host to Euro 2012, there

will be significant material advantages. Hundreds of thousands of fans will flow

into the two countries over the course of the competition, spending mountains

of cash in hotels, restaurants and shops. But there are more than just the weeks

spanned by the championship to consider. How Ukraine and Poland handle

themselves will have a long-term impact on each country’s future. A good per-

formance in the summer of 2012 could see tourists returning year after year and

even help attract investment and new business. “Hosting the UEFA Euro 2012

football championships in Ukraine and Poland is stimulating investment in in-

frastructure and supports Ukraine's continued economic development,” said

Ukrainian Vice-Prime Minister Hryhoriy Nemyrya of the announcement. “It will

be a showcase for our cities, culture and hospitality, as well as the best football

talent in Europe and it will provide a legacy that will endure long after the tour-

nament is over.”

But ensuring this legacy will require some very hard work. After decades of un-

derinvestment, the infrastructure needed to support such a huge event was in no

shape to deal with the challenges associated with hosting such a competition. This

was certainly true in 2007 when the Championships were awarded. Now, two years

later, concerns remain that the countries remain ill-prepared. Suddenly, 2012 does-

n’t seem that far away.

Of the two nations, Ukraine is raising the biggest concerns about its readiness.

Earlier in the year UEFA President Michel Platini announced the host cities for the

competition. While the Polish cities Warsaw, Gdánsk, Wroclaw and Poznán have all

been passed fit, only Kiev has been confirmed in Ukraine. The country now has until

November to sharpen up its preparations or it risks its status as co-host.

While the stadiums where the games are played are generally seen as the

centrepoint of international sporting events like the European Championships,

in reality they are only a small part of the total package. According to research

30 www.euinfrastructure.com

COVER STORY

With only three years until they host the UEFA

European Championships in 2012, the

infrastructure of Poland and Ukraine remain in a

parlous state. Will the finals be a spectacular

own goal, or can the two countries can pull off a

late winner? By Huw Thomas

EURO 2012:16 july 17/7/09 16:38 Page 30

EURO 2012:16 july 17/7/09 16:41 Page 31

from analysts PMR, stadiums only comprise six percent of the almost €40

billion that Poland and Ukraine will spend on preparation for the competi-

tion. Forty-five percent will be spent on roads, 33 percent on rail, 11 percent

on hotels and accommodation, with the final five percent going on airports.

This huge amount of money clearly reflects the infrastructure defi-

ciencies in both countries and the sheer amount of work that must be com-

pleted in the remaining years before the competition. Given that travelling

between just the four Ukrainian host cities will entail journeys of anything

between 600km and 1200km, and the distance between stadiums across

the two countries can be more than 1500km, a robust transport infrastruc-

ture will be essential. Unfortunately for Ukraine, with an area almost twice

the size of its co-host, its transportation system is in a very poor state of re-

pair. Many roads are unpaved and even the more modern routes are pot-

holed and outdated. Rail and airport infrastructure too has a long way to

go before it will be in a position to cope with the thousands of football fans

set to converge on the country in 2012.

In response to these pressing needs, Ukraine has instituted an un-

precedented investment programme to prepare for the championships.

Earmarking some €15 billion, the Ukrainian government aims to reinvent

the country’s infrastructure and drag it kicking and screaming into the 21st

century. It is difficult to fault Ukraine’s ambition. Unsurprisingly, roads will

get one of the biggest portions of funding, with a figure totalling more than

€5 billion. Key priorities are completion of the Lviv-Krakovets and Lviv-Brody

highway sections, along with bypass roads for Lugansk and Donetsk.

Major rail projects are in place to modernise and streamline the coun-

try’s train system. New rolling stock, electrification of thousands of kilo-

metres of lines and the construction of high-speed inter city routes are all


planned. Additionally, underground lines in Dnipropetrovsk, Kiev and

Kharkiv are to be extended, while building on Donetsk’s first under-

ground line is also hoped to be completed. Funds are also going to the

construction and expansion of municipal tram networks to enable fans

to move around Ukrainian cities with greater ease.

Airports will receive around €1.1 billion of investment. Work is fo-

cused on two near Kiev and a further six at Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv,

Odessa, Donetsk, Simferopol and Lviv. This funding will be focused on

building new terminals and runways, as well as modernising existing ones

that lag behind their counterparts in Western Europe.

While this huge raft of improvements looks great on paper, there con-

tinue to be doubts over Ukraine’s ability to deliver them in time for 2012.

Transport projects in particular are a major cause for concern, as efforts to

secure funding for a huge proportion of them have foundered due to polit-

ical infighting. Ukraine remains mired in post-communist corruption and

there are unusually high levels of antipathy between the offices of the

President and the Prime Minister, with neither reluctant to publicly criticise

the other. Speaking in June, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko said:

“How can we talk about Euro 2012, when the budget envisions €4.5 billion

from the stabilization fund, but only €330 million has been financed.

Speaking about the roads: €2.5 billion should have been channelled for the

roads, but only €30 million has been granted as of May 20.”

In early July, Ukrainian newspaper Dzis reported that millions of

Ukrainian hryven intended for infrastructure projects and the completion

of Kiev’s flagship stadium had simply disappeared. Meanwhile, the Mayor

of Lviv, Andriy Sadovy, has said that his city is yet to receive any of the al-

located state funds that were promised. This has resulted in delays to ur-

gent road building projects and work on the new stadium, alongside a

situation at the airport which Sadovy described as “a catastrophe”.

Compounding these issues, June saw the resignation of Transport

Minister Yosyp Vinsky, who stepped down after a serious disagreement

with the country’s Prime Minister. “My statement [of resignation] has been

stipulated by serious disagreements with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko

over political, staff and economic issues, as well as the ethics of relations

between members of the Cabinet of Ministers,” said Vinsky on his resigna-

tion. He also alleged that Tymoshenko was blocking reforms essential to

Polish workers lay the concrete for the new Stadium, Baltic Arenaof Gdansk, for the UEFA EURO 2012 in Gdansk, Poland

Poland

Population 38 million

Area 304,459 sq km

Paved highways 249,050 km

Railways 23,072 km

Airports 123

EURO 2012:16 july 17/7/09 16:38 Page 32

33www.euinfrastructure.com

address Ukraine’s transport problems as well as hampering the allocation

of funds to Euro 2012 building programmes.

In response, the Prime Minister has accused Vinsky of corruption. “I

understand that Mr Vinsky was displeased that we put a stop to his im-

proper use of up to 15 million hryvnias (€1.4 million) in funds meant for the

post office which he intended to use for promoting himself,” she said. “I

believe this could be a good lesson for everyone who has committed the

sin of illegal use of state funds.”

It is worth noting that both Vinsky and Tymoshenko are mooted as ri-

vals in an upcoming presidential election, which may well account for the

volatility of their relationship. However, this is a domestic political row that

has the potential to spill over internationally if Ukraine finds itself unable

to meet its Euro 2012 obligations.

While it is impossible to ignore the many obstacles that lie between

Ukraine and a successful European Cup, Poland too faces some big prob-

lems. While its airport and hotel infrastructure does seem in much better

shape than that of its neighbour, it is bedevilled by similar deficiencies in

its road network. With only 435km of expressways and 765km of genuine

highways, Poland is some distance behind even many of its non-EU neigh-

bours when it comes to modern road infrastructure. When the

Championships were awarded to Poland and Ukraine in 2007, the then gov-

ernment made the bold claim that it would build 3000km of new highways

and expressways before the football fans started rolling in.

Now that we’re a few years closer to the deadline, a new government

has made a slightly revised pledge of 2000km of new roads by 2012. But

even dropping the target by a third leaves Poland with a mountain to climb,

given the historically glacial speed of road construction in the country.

Stymied by a bureaucratic system that’s slow pace has been compounded

by endless appeals from companies that fail to win tenders, progress con-

tinues to be slow. Current infrastructure minister Cezary Grabarczyk has

maintained at least the appearance of confidence that targets can be

reached. “We will get the highways built on time,” he asserts. “By 2012,

you will be able to drive from the German border to Warsaw on a complet-

ed highway.” But Grabarczyk’s bullish assessment is not universally shared.

“I think 500km of the government’s programme is in danger,” says Adrian

Furgalski of transport consultancy TOR. A particular concern is the key sec-

tion connecting Warsaw with Lodz, but there are problems all over the large-

ly communist-era road network. What makes these matters even more

UkrainePopulation 46 million

Area 603,500 sq km

Paved highways 163,898 km

Railways 22,473 km

Airports 437

A view of NSC Olympiyskiy stadium reconstruction in Kiev, Ukraine, where the matches of Euro 2012 are to be held

EURO 2012:16 july 17/7/09 16:38 Page 33

Euro 2012 infrastructure challenges. For Grabarczyk, securing the funding was

a double reason for celebration. He had been given an ultimatum by Polish

Prime Minister Donald Tusk that if he didn’t demonstrate some serious

progress by the beginning of July, he would be out of a job. Grabarczyk’s nar-

row escape is a further illustration of the desperation behind the scenes.

While UEFA President Michel Platini has stated that there are no plans to

take the Euro 2012 Championships away from the current hosts, significant

doubts remain. Ukraine in particular has major cause for concern. A great deal

now rests on UEFA’s November deadline to show progress, with failure to do

so potentially seeing games moved to venues in Poland, or even Germany.

While it would still be billed as co-host, Ukraine could end up only staging

games at Kiev. That would be a significant blow, both for the nation’s fi-

nances and its international standing. But even if the games go ahead at

four locations in both countries as planned, failure to address the short-

comings in infrastructure could instead dramatically tarnish the reputations

that Poland and Ukraine are trying so hard to build. �

pressing is that the benefits of road improvement will continue long after

every football fan has returned home. Poland’s crumbling road infrastructure

is a major brake on progress, as the country’s narrow and crowded routes dis-

courage investment. Beyond the financial implications, there is also a human

cost. As a result of so much heavy traffic being funnelled through the hearts of

towns and villages, Poland’s roads are particularly dangerous. Upwards of 5000

people die in road traffic accidents there every year, a figure more than twice

the EU average.

There has been some good news to report though. At the beginning of July,

Grabarczyk announced that funding for the Swiecko-Nowy Tomysl section of a

key road to the German border had finally been confirmed. “The whole thing

had become a bit of a horror,” Grabarczyk confessed. “The talks were compli-

cated, as the European Investment Bank, 11 commercial banks and also the

company responsible for the construction are all contributing to the financing.”

Coming even in the midst of a victory, that statement demonstrates the

difficulty the Polish, and Ukrainian, authorities are experiencing in tackling


The position that Poland and Ukraine find

themselves in now is mirrored by that of Greece in

the run up to the 2004 Olympic Games. Before the

games began, there was a steady drip of stories

suggesting that the facilities would not be ready and that

the notoriously congested traffic system of host city

Athens would lead to disaster. In the event, the games

were a success, and perhaps more importantly, their

effects have gone on to be felt for years. Most striking is

the impact improvements for the games have had on

Athens’ traffic system. Road improvements, investment

in public transport and traffic management technology

have all provided an impressive legacy for the city’s

permanent inhabitants. Following the long construction

period before the games, when Athenians experienced

serious problems with transportation, the city now

benefits from a significantly less congested major

road network and a high quality public transport

system. Despite costing somewhere in the region of

€6 billion, the ensuing benefits can certainly be viewed

as value for money.

Olympic Stadium in Athens during

renovations in preparation for the 2004

Summer Olympics, circa 2000

The opening ceremony of the Athens 2004Olympic Games, August 13, 2004

GOING FOR GOLD: ATHENS 2004

EURO 2012:16 july 17/7/09 16:38 Page 34

BOMAG AD.indd 1BOMAG AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:45:4825/6/09 11:45:48


FEATURE

Lord Adonis ED:24sept 17/7/09 15:46 Page 36


Eurostar is a remarkable Anglo-French success

story, on a par with Concorde in seizing the public

imagination. However, I confidently predict that it

will be rather more enduring and transformation-

al in its legacy, and that it will be only the first of

many high-speed rail companies to run services in

the UK over the years ahead, as new services develop on High

Speed One, and as High Speed Two – and who knows perhaps

even High Speed Three and Four – come into operation in the

decades ahead.

High Speed Two is only likely to be built soon if we forge a

strong cross-party consensus behind not only the concept of a

north-south high-speed line but also, behind a definite propos-

al for the line and its financing. The bane of infrastructure plan-

ning in the post-war decades was the failure to develop a

national consensus behind essential long-term improvements,

and I think we all deprecate the consequences.

Obviously there isn’t as yet a definite High Speed Two pro-

posal; the new High Speed Two company has only been in exis-

tence for a few months and there will be a lot of devils in a lot of

details, not least when it comes to the route and the financing.

But once we have a credible and acceptable scheme, I hope it

will be possible to forge a cross-party consensus behind High

Speed Two.

It’s time to let go of our old-fashioned notions of railtransport and put high-speedtrains on the fast track, saysUK Transport Minister LordAndrew Adonis.


Until recently, most observers in Britain thought that high-speed rail

was largely about Japanese bullet trains and French TGVs, and that there

were particular reasons to do with the geography, politics and transport

planning regime in Japan and France which made them exceptional in re-

spect of their rail technology. Britain’s one engagement so far with high-

speed rail – the London to Folkestone line – was conceived as a project

largely separate from the existing rail network; hence its very name – the

‘Channel Tunnel Rail Link’ – and the fact that domestic services were only a

minor part of the scheme in its original conception.

All that is changing fast. The first backdrop to this is the growing scale

and success of high-speed rail not only in France and Japan, but across

Europe and Asia. Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium,

China, Taiwan and Korea have all followed Japan and France in the in-

ternational high-speed rail revolution. In all, 3600 miles of high-speed

line are in operation in Europe, a further 2000 are under construction and

5300 are planned.


High Speed One works as well as any other high speed

line in the world. Average infrastructure delay is about six

seconds per train, which is performance on a par with

Japanese bullet trains. It is not the case that this country

can’t manage world class infrastructure to world class

standards. HS1 was also ultimately built to time and

within budget, with substantial private funding – although

both the time and the budget were adjusted upwards,

and the effective share of private finance downwards –

several times before the final restructuring of London and

Continental Railways in 2002. The line is also one of the –

if not the – most expensive high-speed railway built in the

world per kilometre, only partly because of the long tunnel

on the approach to London. So, having not built a single

major overground railway in the entire 20th century, we

have now done it successfully in the 21st century, and we

are well placed to do it a second time, but we must

demand greater efficiency and cost control as our

engineers and project managers master the art.

It is in that spirit that we have asked High Speed

Two to propose a high-speed plan to us by the end of

the year, starting with a firm route proposition – and

associated economic and environmental assessments –

for a line from London to the West Midlands, with

advice also on the possibilities for extension beyond the

West Midlands in terms of services to in particular to

the great conurbations of the north-west, West

Yorkshire, the north-east and central Scotland. We

intend to consider the report intensively immediately

after its receipt, and to consult the other political parties

upon it, with a view to indicating a definite way forward

in the early part of 2010.

THE NEXT PHASE


As for their impact, high-speed lines have generally led to dramatic in-

creases in rail traffic. As successive lines develop into national and cross-

border networks, the network effects become larger still. In all these

countries, high-speed rail is not just about faster trains. It is also about

much higher capacity rail systems, designed to cope more effectively with

the full range of demands on the network – commuter and freight services

as well as inter-city services – and to be interoperable with those of neigh-

bouring countries. It means greener transport and car-

bon reduction, and getting people out of cars and

planes. It is also about economic regeneration and bet-

ter social integration. In Europe, it is means trans-

European networks and the creation of a more

integrated and prosperous European market.

Country by country, high speed rail is – or is be-

coming – a key driver of modernisation economic, envi-

ronmental and social; it is not simply a better, faster

means of transport. The French Prime Minister, Francois

Fillon, recently described the French TGV as one of the

two infrastructural transformations of modern France;

the other being energy independence through the

French nuclear programme.

This international experience has held a major im-

pact on my thinking and that of the Government. In my

view, it is no longer a defensible position to oppose high-speed rail on the

grounds of English exceptionalism. I recently came across the argument

that we have less to gain from high-speed rail because our cities our clos-

er together than those in France. This is frankly comical. We need to en-


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Lord Adonis speaking in the House of Lords.

“High speedrail is a key

driver ofmodernisation

economic,environmental

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gage systematically with the experience of countries making a success of

high-speed rail and learn from it.

In other non-high speed rail countries, notably Canada and the United

States, the transport debate is shifting high-speed in the same direction.

On the day of President Obama’s election last November, Governor

Schwarzenegger won a ballot proposition for a bond to pay the first

US$10bn needed for a San Francisco to Los Angeles high-speed line.

President Obama’s fiscal stimulus package included the first federal

funding in the US for high-speed rail; when I was in Paris recently I found

myself hot on the heels of the mayors of both San Francisco and

Montreal, who had been receiving similar presentations from SNCF

about the French experience. Under the headline ‘By ignoring rail op-

tions, US is on the wrong track’, a commentator in the New York Times

recently wrote:

“The truth is that when it comes to rail transport... Americans haven’t

made much palpable improvement, at least not compared with our friends

and competitors in Europe and Asia. It is as though we got fixed in amber

someplace between the 1920s and the 1960s with our big cars, our slow

trains and our crowded, legroom-challenged skies. And while the rest of the

world forges ahead with new and better ways of moving people from place

to place – namely on super-fast trains – we are waiting in the tunnel for the

train ahead to cross.”

That is the changing view from the US. In Britain we are in a better

place, both in not getting stuck in tunnels – with our longest tunnel, the

Channel Tunnel, accounting for nearly a third of our 100 miles of genuinely

high-speed line – and also in our upgrading of the railways, which have

undergone a renaissance in terms both of usage and investment. This rail

renaissance is the second backdrop to this discussion; it is a crucial part

of the capacity case for high-speed rail, and it ought to give us confidence

that we can progress effectively to the next major phase of railway de-

velopment.

Rail passenger and freight volumes have grown at a remarkable rate

over the past decade. Passenger numbers are more than 50 percent high-

er. There were 1.2 billion passenger journeys in 2007, higher than at any

time since 1946. Freight traffic is up by 40 percent in the past decade. The

number of services, and service quality, have also improved steadily.

Across the network as a whole, the number of train services increased

in the December timetable change alone by more than five percent, to

104,500 a week – the highest on the network since before Beeching. This

includes a 9.8 percent increase in Sunday services, and a 6.5 percent in-

crease on Saturdays, as we seek to offer a reliable seven-day-a-week rail-

way in place of the patchy weekend timetables of the past.

As for network modernisation and new lines, the €16 billion Crossrail

project will take 24 trains an hour through central London on a line that con-

nects Heathrow and the west of the capital, through the business and com-

mercial heart of the City, into Docklands and to Essex beyond. Going

north-south through London, the Thameslink upgrade will enable up to 24

trains an hour to run from Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and the north of

London through central London to Brighton and other destinations in the

south. These are both transformational projects that will improve radically

the network at its most congested and economically vital heart. We are also

pioneering the next generation of inter-city trains on the existing network,

which will take over from the ageing diesel inter-city 125 fleet and provide

We see High Speed one as plugging Britain and

Eurostar into an extended European high-speed

network. So through Railteam – the group of

eight of the north European high-speed train operators –

we’re working hard to develop through travel from one

operator to another using a simple fare structure and easy-

to-access timetable information, so that travelling around

that rapidly growing network becomes as easy as travelling

domestically.

Each new link in that infrastructure network contributes

to the performance of existing links, as well as providing

new accessibility for operators and opening up journeys

between new cities for passengers. There is a lot of synergy

as that network continues to expand. For instance, France

and Spain will be joined up in the next few years with high-

speed, and you will be able to take Eurostar from London to

Paris and switch to TGV from Paris to Spain. It really does

open up a much wider range of journey possibilities.

There’s a growing body of opinion, particularly in some

of the regional cities, that being linked to that Europe-wide

network will be essential in the coming years. On the

continent, I think it’s much more accepted that high-speed

is the way forward. As an operator, the challenges are more

how we get the reservation systems and the fare systems

for what are essentially national railways to talk to each

other and to link up for consumers, which is a key project

for Railteam. Then having done that, to put in place simple,

attractive through fares. At the moment, if somebody wants

to go from London to Austria, you end up putting fares

together from two, if not three, different operators for

different portions of the journey. And it’s no surprise that

what you end up with doesn’t necessarily bear much

relation to the market price. So that’s clearly a big

challenge: to get national operators to think in terms of an

international market.

EUROPEAN UNIONEurostar CEO Richard Brown onbecoming part of a wider network.


greater express capacity on the electrified network, while at the same time

we are analysing plans for further intercity electrification.

This brings me to the successful completion of High Speed One, as we

now call the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, in a symbolic change of name. I said

earlier that in its original conception HS1 was essentially a project – a vi-

sionary project – to get from London to Paris in just over two hours. More

prosaically, it also became a congestion relief and service upgrading pro-

ject for trains from East Kent to London, and this aspect loomed steadily

larger as the financing of the international services became increasingly

problematic. HS1 would offer an opportunity to tackle the acute shortage

of capacity on the Kent commuter lines into London, while also opening

up key network bottlenecks such as London Bridge, allowing for other

commuter service expansion projects such as the north-south

Thameslink line through central London.

This domestic capacity enhancement dimension of the HS1 project

became particularly attractive because of the very poor rail infrastructure

bequeathed by the unproductive cut-throat Victorian competition be-

tween the South Eastern and the London, Chatham and Dover railway

companies, which left East Kent with one of the worst built railway net-

works in the country.

As it turns out, the second fiddle on HS1 looks set to replace the lead

violin. Traffic on the 140 mph Javelin trains from St Pancras, via High Speed

One and then onto the Chatham, Ashford, Canterbury and Folkestone lines,

will be significantly greater than the international Eurostar business. With

the best standard journey times from London to Ashford cut from 60 min-

utes to 37, to Folkestone from 79 minutes to 63 and to Canterbury from 87

minutes to 62, Southeastern plans from this autumn to run up to eight com-

muter trains an hour to and from St Pancras in peak times.

This raises two points of considerable significance to the development

of High Speed Two. First, similar capacity pressures to East Kent, requiring

network solutions, apply – or will apply as traffic increases – in respect of

other strategic rail corridors. The government’s High Speed Two document

highlights the rail corridor from London to the West Midlands. But I am also

struck by the limitations imposed by poor network conditions elsewhere in

terms of extraordinarily slow journey times between major conurbations.

Consider Manchester, Bradford and Leeds, three of the biggest population

and business centres in the country. Manchester and Leeds are separated

by only 43 Trans-Pennine rail miles, but the rail journey time is 55 minutes

– an average speed as slow as London to Canterbury, which is quite an

achievement.

My second reflection is that, although there is a high price involved in

building high-speed lines, there is also a high price involved in not building

them where additional rail capacity is required anyway. This high price

is measured not only in lost economic and social benefits but also in the

direct cost of upgrading existing congested rail lines, which is very large

indeed.

This second lesson is much more apparent to us than it was before

HS1, because we now have the direct experience of the 10 year plus pro-

ject to upgrade the West Coast Main Line (WCML), completed. This up-

grade was essential to achieve additional rail capacity on a principal

inter-city route, enabling more frequent and much faster and more reli-

able trains. To provide this on the WCML – Britain’s principal inter-city rail

artery, which also has heavy commuter and goods traffic – an essential-

ly patch-and-mend approach was adopted, to secure a transformation in

capacity and service quality for much less than the cost of building an en-

tirely new line. Many of these benefits have indeed been secured: thrice

hourly trains now run from London to Birmingham and Manchester with

journey times faster than ever before. Passengers have never had a bet-

ter service.

However, it has not been an easy journey. The original mid-1990s

spec for the WCML project was for a €4.7 billion upgrade to provide not

only greater capacity but also 140 mph running and state-of-the-art sig-

nalling as on High Speed One. Ten years later? The cost turned

out at €10.2 billion for what in the jargon is called a “de-scoped”

project for 125 mph running speed, not 140 mph, with the new

signalling postponed and the capacity enhancement very much

less than would have been achieved by a new line. Of the €10.2

billion spent on the WCML upgrade, more than €580 million has

gone in compensation payments to train operating companies

for not being able to operate services during the long periods of

engineering work, and that does begin to price the true cost of

the disruption to passengers in services cancelled or diverted

year after year.

For the future, we need to assess the relative merits, including dis-

ruption saved, of building new lines rather than highly disruptive and

expensive major upgrades of existing lines. The government projection

is for a doubling of passenger demand by 2030. How far, on congested

lines, growth is met by incremental upgrades, and how far by new lines,

is a critical issue which will determine the development of new com-

muter as well as high-speed lines. If the cost of disruption is fully taken

into account, it is by no means clear that ostensibly lower priced up-

grades are always better value than new lines, including new high-speed

lines.

These, then, are the three key – the increasingly positive interna-

tional experience of high-speed rail; the rail renaissance here in the UK;

and the successful completion of HS1 which ought to give us confidence

that we can do the same again with HS2.

I strongly approve of the editorial in the recent issue of Transport

Times that ends with these words: “There will be many siren voices telling

us not to bother about planning for the long term when the short term

crisis is so grave. They are wrong! Short-termism is the British transport

disease.” I agree with every word. Let long-termism be our theme for

the future, and High Speed Two its driving force. �


This article is based on a speech given at the 2009 Transport Times conference.

“There will be many siren voices telling us not to bother about planning for the long term when the short-term crisis is so grave.They are wrong! Short-termism is the Britishtransport disease”


be considered when choosing who would receive the designation.

This year, in Vilnius, the position of Capital of Culture resulted in New

Year’s Eve celebrations that included a light show said to have been ‘visi-

ble from outer space’ and, in the build up to the event,

the restoration and renewal of many of the city’s main

monuments. The facade of the Vilnius Palace of

Concerts and Sports was transformed into a multilevel

glazed wall, where musical performances were broad-

cast onto huge screens installed in Cathedral Square;

then, at midnight January 1st 2009, along the banks of

the Neris River, 60 spotlights, 10 laser cannons and

other assorted devices fired a breathtaking dome of

light across the city. Now, throughout the year, Vilnius is

offering some three million expected visitors an array of

900 cultural events, 600 of which will be free.

But it’s not just the City of Culture designation that

stipulates the need for urban renewal. In the shadow of

the credit crunch, many cities across Europe are looking to push their de-

velopment, create new environments for workers and stimulate their

economies. And from shopping malls to residential areas, to commercial

Welcome to Vilnius, both Lithuania’s largest and capital

city. Vilnius, coupled with Linz in Austria, is this year’s

European Capital of Culture. And, in terms of regener-

ation, it’s a good place to start. The

European Capital of Culture, being

the city designated by the EU for the period of one

calendar year, is given this chance to showcase its

cultural life and cultural development. Traditionally

a number of European cities have used their City of

Culture year to transform their cultural base and, in

doing so, the way in which they are viewed interna-

tionally. During the first two decades of the scheme,

for example, cities that were chosen were done so

primarily based on cultural history, scheduled events

and the ability to provide infrastructural and financial

support. Then, following a 2004 study by the

European Culture Commission, it was realised that

the choice of European Capital of Culture served as a catalyst for the

cultural development and the transformation of that city. Consequently,

the beneficial social-economic development and impact also began to


Urban renewel takes many forms and has the power to radically change the soul of a city.Here, EU Infrastructure’s Matt Buttell looks at how regenerations are affecting Europe and

rounds-up some of the most striking projects of the last few decades.

FEATURE

REGENERATION

“Over the past 30 years the

construction ofurban regeneration

projects hasreflected wider

governmentpolicy”

Regeneration Story:24sept 17/7/09 15:48 Page 42

complexes to leisure facilities, these sorts of developments are now punc-

tuating the European landscape.

In the UK for example, across many areas of the country, the impact of

urban renewal has been huge. Defined as a complex combination of social,

economic, planning, construction and management

activities, urban regeneration has, over the years,

brought together the ability to improve the social

sustainability, economic stability and the infrastruc-

ture of a geographical location, which in turn has

proven to help improve the sustainability of the

urban landscape it occupies. Yet, according to one

definition of urban regeneration, while it is fre-

quently claimed that UK initiatives have largely im-

proved the quality of life in regeneration areas, it is

also still heavily criticised.

In fact, according to reports from the British

Urban Regeneration Association (BURA), this is be-

cause, in the past, urban regeneration has in-

volved the purchase of residential properties in

run down areas, meaning that family housing is

frequently replaced by flats and apartments which

are then priced too highly to be affordable for the

people who used to live there, instead appealing

to a totally different type of home buyer. “There is

no doubt that over the past 30 years the nature

and construction of urban regeneration projects

has reflected wider government policy,” reads one

BURA report. “The high profile construction of ex-

clusive waterside regeneration developments at

London’s Canary Wharf or Liverpool’s Albert Dock

in the 1980s, for example, reflected, in part, the

hopes and aspirations of the Conservative gov-

ernment at that time.”

Parque das Nações Lisbon, PortugalThe Parque das Nações (Park of the Nations) is a

leisure, commercial and residential area covering an

extensive area in northeastern Lisbon next to the Tagus

estuary, which was formerly used for industrial purposes. The

area, which underwent a tremendous transformation in the

1990s when it was chosen as the location for the Expo ’98

World Exhibition, saw further transformations with the

construction of the Vasco da Gama shopping mall, Lisbon’s

International Fair complex, hotels and many new office and

residential buildings. Many attractions built for Expo ’98

remained and keep drawing visitors, such as the Oceanarium,

one of the world’s biggest aquariums. Currently an estimated

15,000 people live in the Nations’ Park, which is halved

between the Lisbon and Loures municipalities, effectively

splitting the local government of the area.

Clyde Waterfront RegenerationGlasgow, United KingdomClyde Waterfront is a 20km stretch of the River Clyde in

Scotland and with over 200 projects on both sides of the river

it is one of Britain’s largest urban renewal projects.

Throughout the area projects are in place to transform

business, housing, tourism and infrastructure. The anticipated

investment in Clyde Waterfront from public and private money is

now estimated at €6.5 billion. Meanwhile, in Glasgow city

centre, the International Financial Services District (IFSD) has

been set up to attract new financial companies to the city and

has now created one million square feet of new Grade ‘A’ office

accommodation in the centre of the city. Back on the north side

of the river, the first phase of the €1.4 billion residential

development at Glasgow Harbour is almost entirely sold out and

the second phase of housing, know as GH20, will

provide a further 800 apartments, with many

already sold or occupied. Phase 3 of the

housing development is now beginning to

take shape.

1

2


Strategy. The objectives include the need to provide an exchange and learn-

ing tool for policy decision-makers, practitioners and other actors involved

in developing urban policies; learn from the exchanges between URBACT

partners that share experiences and good practices; disseminate good

practices and lessons learned from exchanges to all European cities; and

assist city policy-makers, practioners and managers of operational pro-

grammes to define solid action plans.

It seems then that while there may be no single European ‘model’ for

successful urban regeneration, a consistent approach does seem to run

throughout. And that is the presence a powerful local authority that is

using the regeneration scheme to not just revive a run down area but

also to change the whole image of the city and transform its strategic

economic position. In the long run, as history has shown, successful

urban regeneration will not only work at the physical level but will also

result in successful, viable, vibrant and sustainable communities. �

Nonetheless, BURA is an organisation pushing for regeneration

across the nation. “We have a unique strength that derives from our

wide range of members in the private, public and community sectors,”

explains CEO Michael Ward, “and this distinguishes us from any other

sector interest group.”

Currently, BURA is working towards August’s BURA Awards for Best

Practice in Regeneration. Speaking about the event Ward explained,

“BURA’s Best Practice Awards recognise true excellence in regeneration,

and at a time when many projects have stalled and future prospects for

public spending are uncertain, BURA aims to seek out the very best from

across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to show others what

can be achieved.”

Take the new report from the UK Government, for example. Entitled

Transforming Places; Changing Lives: taking forward the regeneration

framework (TPCL) the report sets out proposals to deliver a new national

framework for regeneration. “Planning is a key driver of regeneration,” says

Ward, “which, in line with the Government’s response set out in TPCL, can

provide a clear policy framework and facilitate a partnership approach. This

commentary will then provide a focus on the relationship between TPCL and

statutory planning policy.”

At least, that’s the hope for the UK. Meanwhile, URBACT, a European

Programme funded by the ERDF, which aims to foster the exchange of ex-

perience among European cities on all issues related to sustainable urban

development, is now beginning its second cycle. The first cycle (URBACT I),

which lasted between 2002 and 2006, was a Community Initiative pro-

gramme set up to foster networking between cities having benefited from

the previous URBAN I, URBAN II and PPU programmes. Consequently, UR-

BACT I focused on social cohesion within deprived areas in European cities.

Their partners and their inhabitants have since become beneficiaries of

such programmes.

Now, through the second cycle (URBACT II), the challenge is to improve

the effectiveness of sustainable integrated urban development policies in

Europe with a view to implementing the European Lisbon-Gothenburg


Redevelopment of Norrmalm,SwedenThe Redevelopment of Norrmalm (Norrmalmsregleringen)

was a major revision, which was realised during the

1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The renewal resulted in the old

Klara quarters being replaced for the modern city of

Stockholm, while the Stockholm subway was extended

through the city. The renewal of Norrmalm was the

largest Swedish urban development project to date and

engaged a large part of Sweden’s architectural elite. The

Norrmalm renewal was both been criticised and admired

throughout Sweden and internationally, and is now

regarded as one of the largest of all city renewals in

Europe during post-war time, even including the cities

that took severe damage during World War II.

3


Croydon Vision 2020London, United Kingdom

Croydon Vision 2020 is a

regeneration programme by the

London Borough of Croydon in South

London. The programme seeks to affect the

urban planning of Central Croydon extensively

and promote the area as hub of living, retailing,

culture and business in South London and South

East England. Currently €4.1 billion has been

committed to proposed development projects,

which include a 12,500 maximum capacity

arena, offering office space, apartments,

supermarkets, health clubs, bars and

restaurants; three residential developments and

providing 337 apartments in the town centre; a

shopping mall, bus station and office

development with a new public square; a mixed-

use development consisting of a 44 storey

tower, 800 new homes, 3000m² of retail and

public realm space and a new 25,824 m² office

and retail development directly opposite East

Croydon train station.

4


5 6The Transformation of KazimierzKraków, PolandOver the last 20 years, the district of Kazimierz has

faced a revitalisation as complex as its very history.

The process of renewal in the urban village started

in the early 1990s and the results are apparent today

in buildings, the scale of business activity, the

residents and the image it presents to Krakóvians

and visitors. As a result the growth in the quarter has

main been driven by market forces, and nowhere is

this more prominent than in the previously

dilapidated Jewish quarter, which is dominated by

commercial activities based on its Jewish cultural

heritage and tourism is now becoming the most

important function of the district.

Regeneration through cultureBilbao, SpainThe objectives of the urban regeneration projects in Bilbao are to change the

industrial image of the city and introduce new service and cultural activities

which would be able to attract tourists, visitors and businesses. Through the

creation of cultural infrastructure, services and waterfront, the area for

regeneration is focused on the inner-city’s old industrial area and the declining

neighbourhoods in and around the city. Subsequently a series of strategic

guidelines and major infrastructure projects for the future regional development

were assembled, including a focus on restructuring the region from an

industrial one to an area with an important services and cultural sector; and the

integration of public and private partners in the strategic design, planning and

implementation processes. It is believed that the whole population of the areas

which form the urban regeneration projects will benefit from new parks, public

places, new roads and bicycle tracks in the regenerated areas.


The implementation of GNSS-based

road user charging (RUC) is now ap-

proaching a reality in Europe. Leading

the way is Slovakia’s decision to go for

a GNSS-based solution for the nationwide truck

tolling project. GNSS is often referred to as ei-

ther a satellite navigation system or as GPS

(from the American abbreviation of Global

Positioning System) but all systems based on

GPS are classified as GNSS.

Road user charging (RUC) systems based

on GNSS require an On Board Unit (OBU) posi-

tioned in the vehicle. The OBU uses satellite sig-

nals to pinpoint its current position and to

calculate the toll fee. The data is then transmit-

ted via mobile radio signals (usually GSM) from

the OBU to the back office system where an in-

voice is generated and sent to the user.

In January 2009, Q-Free, together with

Siemens, won the contract to deliver the new

Truck Tolling project for Slovakia SkyToll. Q-Free

supplies the central system and enforcement

system and a three-year service agreement for

a GPS-based truck tolling system in the Slovak

Republic. Siemens supplies the first 80,000

OBUs. The construction phase will continue

throughout 2009.

Following the growth of the truck tolling mar-

ket, we will then move on to offer industrialised

solutions for GNSS-based road user charging;

We already offer ready system solutions, with

GNSS OBUs, communication infrastructure, en-

forcement solutions and operational back office

solutions.

The clear thing that is now differentiating Q-

Free from other players is that we have a world

leading DRSC solution complimented by a proven

GNSS charging solution. From past supplier ex-

periences, people think that a GNSS OBU is a

huge and expensive piece of equipment, but that

is not strictly true: The Q-Free GNSS OBU, for in-

stance, is small, elegant and non-intrusive and is

not much bigger than an existing DRSC tag. Think

of it as a DSRC OBU with a power wire. The OBU

still fits on the windscreen just like a DSRC tag.

It is the OBU that is the key. A GNSS OBU

would have cost €500 a few years ago. Today it’s

significantly lower, less in volume, making the

GNSS road pricing market more competitive

when you consider the savings in road-side in-

frastructure and speed of scheme deployment.

GNSS road pricing is a hot topic in Europe

at the moment as several new projects are about

to be announced. GNSS-based technology is

mostly being used for heavy goods vehicles. The

German HGV system and the Slovakia SkyToll

system lead the way.

GNSS truck tolling schemes have already

been implemented and proven beyond doubt in

Germany. With Slovakia’s decision to implement

GNSS truck tolling, together with the firm plans

in France, the Netherlands and possibly

Slovenia, it is obvious that the GNSS truck

tolling market will constitute a considerable

share of the market for road user charging in

Europe in the near future.

DSRC, ANPR (Automatic Number Plate

Recognition) and GNSS-based RUC solutions or

a combination of these is the future. No matter

which technology is chosen, this high potential

market is rapidly growing. We will also see other

applications develop in the future like vehicle-

to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure commu-

nication that will co-exist with the more

traditional RUC applications. The outlook is sim-

ply that the GNSS segment of the RUC industry

will continue to grow. Major procurements are

happening and more and more countries are ini-

tiating GNSS-based solutions for road charging,

especially countries which don’t have a charg-

ing scheme and are now looking at satellite

based solutions.

Tolling projects usually span many years, and

at Q-Free we want to make sure that we have the

right solutions. Governments and concession-

aires have to make huge decisions about what is

going to be the technology of the future. n

The price is right


Q-Free’s Per Fredrik Ecker explores the past,present and future of Global Navigation SatelliteSystems (GNSS) road pricing.

ASK THE EXPERT

PER FREDRIKECKER

Per Fredrik Ecker is Vice President Sales &

Marketing for Q-Free ASA in Norway, one of

the leading road user charging

infrastructure suppliers. He has broad

international experience from several

management positions in Siemens Mobile,

Siemens Shanghai Mobile Communication

Ltd. China (SSMC) and Siemens Wireless

Access West Europe, Siemens AG.

QFREE ATE:24sept 17/07/2009 16:07 Page 46

Q FREE AD.indd 1Q FREE AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:51:5325/6/09 11:51:53


CAPITAL INVESTMENT

Six years after its establishment, the London congestion charge zone remains the most ambitious such project in the world. We sat down with Transport for London’s Graeme Craig to hear about its growing pains and where it goes from here.

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON ED P48-50.indd Sec1:48TRANSPORT FOR LONDON ED P48-50.indd Sec1:48 17/7/09 15:48:4717/7/09 15:48:47


London’s congestion charging programme is one of the largest in the

world. What challenges did the implementation of such an ambitious

undertaking present to TFL?

Graeme Craig. When the central London scheme was introduced

back in February of 2003 it was the fi rst of its type in the world, so of

course when we switched it on we couldn’t be absolutely sure what

the impact was going to be. As it happens, the scheme itself worked

largely as planned, but we did learn lots of lessons about contract

management and operational management. The numbers of people

using the scheme weren’t as we originally estimated and it did take

some months after going live to sort those things out.

The original cost of the scheme was €187 million and of that about

half, €93 million, was actually spent on changes to the traffi c manage-

ment around the zone because of the impact the zone itself would

have. These days we’re much more experienced and the market is

much more mature, so we expect to deliver an equivalent of a London

scheme for less than half the price of that cost.

You mentioned that there were changes you had to make. What were

those?

GC. We’ve made hundreds of changes to the way the scheme works

since it was fi rst introduced. It has been effective in terms of its

original aim of reducing traffi c, but we didn’t make it as easy as we

should have done for the people who used the scheme and that’s

one of the major lessons. There was and still is no automated pay-

ment system, so drivers have to remember to pay when they drive

in the zone, and sometimes they forget and end up getting a fi ne. In

2006 we started giving drivers an extra day to pay the charge and

that helped but still not enough, so next year we’re implementing a

new system using IBM and we’re also introducing an automated pay-

ment scheme, and that should eliminate the risk of people forgetting

to pay the charge.

People will register their vehicle registration

number, and then after they’ve driven in the zone

– we’re still to determine exactly where – but on a

weekly basis we’ll then charge the driver either from

their bank account or credit or debit card for the times

we saw them inside the zone on the cameras placed

around and inside the zone.

What changes did you make in terms of the infra-

structure improvements?

GC. The congestion charge raised revenue last year of

€160 million net after paying for the administration of

the scheme, and by law any revenues raised through

congestion charging must be spent on transport. So

what the congestion charging scheme has done is

helped to improve the London transport network.

Particularly we’ve improved the bus network. It’s

obviously much quicker and much less expensive to

improve a bus network than an underground network,

so in terms of helping people with options for how

they travel into London we decided to improve the bus

network. We’ve also made it easier and safer to walk around and cycle

around London. One of the impacts the congestion charging scheme

has had is that we’ve seen a 66 percent increase in the number of

people cycling into London, which obviously is a good news story.

In terms of implementing the congestion charging system, did you

have to make any infrastructure improvements in order for the system

to work?

GC. We effectively built a new system for congestion charging. We have

348 locations and over 1300 cameras. We outsourced the operation of

the scheme and the outsource provider we use at present, Capita, op-

erates from a contact centre based in Coventry in the West Midlands.

So there was a new contact centre built – a new camera infrastructure

Another viewStockholm: taxing times

While some congestion charging schemes have been

criticised as a form of stealth tax, the Swedish project

has been confi dent enough to label itself as a tax

from the outset. Following a seven-month trial period,

the charge was implemented on a permanent basis

in August 2007 and covers Stockholm city centre

virtually in its entirety. What is particularly interesting

about the Swedish project is that when Stockholm’s

residents were given a referendum on it, they voted to

make it permanent. Sweden’s population is used to

shoulder a fairly hefty tax burden, which goes some

way to accounting for this acceptance.


at that point London would be gridlocked. It’s a more complex picture

because of the other factors at play, but in terms of reducing traffi c

the congestion charge has been successful.

Is there anything you’d do differently given the opportunity?

GC. I’ve already explained that we have made lots of changes to the

scheme and we didn’t make it easy as we should have done for the

people using it. Other things in terms of doing differently, the biggest

challenge for our congestion charging scheme at present within the

UK, and across the world, is public acceptance. It is those elements

that relate to ease of use that are the crucial ones that any scheme has

to consider, as part of ensuring that it will be acceptable to the people

who need to drive in the area.

How did you go about gaining public acceptance for the congestion

charge?

GC. There was a lot of work done in order to explain both how the

scheme worked and the underlying purpose behind the scheme, and

of course that’s critical. There are between 180,000 and 190,000

people a day who drive into central London and those people need

to understand whether or not they are affected by the scheme, and if

they are affected they need to understand how they pay for it. We’ve

put a lot of effort into it, and it being such a high profi le scheme helps

in this regard – getting the message out there to people who need to

use it. Then it just becomes a question of monitoring the scheme. We

outsource the contract to the service provider but within Transport for

London we’re obviously keen to understand if there are any issues, I’ll

give you simple examples.

If you’re a resident who lives inside the central London zone then

you only have to pay 10 percent of the charge because you get a 90 per-

cent discount. We came up with criteria that people had to meet in order

to prove that they’re a resident. Then we discovered that there are not

insubstantial numbers of people who live in London who don’t have util-

ity bills or bank statements with their address because they might have

two addresses, and it might be that they spend fi ve days a week living in

London but at a property that’s paid for by their company and they have

literally nothing in their name that proves they live there. In situations

like that when you introduce a scheme there will be issues that do arise

and you have to be prepared to understand and, escalate those issues,

and to seek to come up with new sets of rules on an ongoing basis that

refl ect the experience that you see happening on the ground.

Based on your experiences with the London project, what recommen-

dations would you give to other cities?

GC. Any scheme that’s introduced has to meet the local issues so that

road pricing isn’t a panacea but designed properly and is a key part of

a wider initiative to address the impact of growth in traffi c, congestion

and emissions, for example. A congestion charging scheme can be ef-

fective. Slightly different schemes have been effective in Stockholm

and Milan. That’s the experience that we’ve seen within London and it

has been the experience of schemes elsewhere.

around London and a hub site within London as well – which is where

we assemble and compare the images of those people who’ve been

seen within London against a record of those people who’ve paid.

The scheme has been in operation for a little over six years now. What

success have you seen to date and how does it reduce congestion?

GC. It’s been very successful. Traffi c in central London is down 20 per-

cent, so we have 70,000 fewer vehicles entering central London every

day as a result of the charge being in place, and that effect was seen

on the day in which charging was fi rst switched on. Six years later it’s

still as successful and still having as much impact in terms of reducing

traffi c as it was when it was fi rst introduced. That said, despite the

continued decrease in traffi c we have seen rises in the levels of con-

gestion, and that’s the amount of time that vehicles spend in queues.

Now we know that the rising congestion isn’t related to traf-

fi c levels because traffi c levels have remained as low as they were

when the scheme was fi rst introduced, so there are other factors at

play, particularly the amount of utility works and street works within

London. Thames Water may have to replace the water system within

London, so of course those works need to take place. With no conges-

tion charge there would be another 70,000 vehicles on the road, and

Graeme Craig is Transport for London’s Director of Congestion Charging and Traffi c Enforcement.


Another viewMilan: green dream

Milan’s congestion charging scheme, Ecopass, is aimed

at reducing traffi c pollution. Originally implemented

as a one-year trial, it is awaiting public consultation to

determine if the changes are to become permanent. The

scheme is operated on a similar level to London and

Stockholm but with a much greener focus – only vehicles

entering the traffi c-restricted zone with high-polluting

engines will be charged, and older and most polluting

vehicles are banned completely.


TRANSOFT SOLUTIONS ADS.indd 2TRANSOFT SOLUTIONS ADS.indd 2 25/6/09 11:53:3825/6/09 11:53:38

Phase 2 of Poland’s A1 Motorway

has just achieved fi nancial close.

This is a signifi cant achievement

for Poland, the concessionaire

(the Gdansk Transport Company,

or GTC), its shareholders, the respective

Ministries (Infrastructure and Finance) and

for PPP schemes in Central and Eastern

Europe, especially considering the state of

the international capital markets, the world

economic crisis and diffi culties experienced

in the past in bringing PPP projects to a

close in Central and Eastern Europe.

The A1 Motorway connects the cities

of Gdansk and Torun in central Poland and

is an integral part of the north-south Pan

European Transport Corridor VI route from

the Baltic ports to Slovakia and hence the

Adriatic.

The 90 km long Phase 1 from Gdansk to

Nowe Marzy was opened to traffi c in Octo-

ber 2008, some three months ahead of the

contractual completion date. Actual traffi c

is slightly higher than the model’s forecast

although the mix is different and in favour of

light vehicles. This is particularly of interest

considering that Poland still has a vignette

system in use for heavy goods vehicles

and only light vehicles and those without

vignettes are tolled on the A1.

The 62 km long Phase 2 from Nowe

Marzy to Torun crosses the Vistula River

twice and includes two large bridges, one of

which is two km long, crossing very sensi-

tive environmental areas in the Vistula’s

fl ood basin.

The Phase 1 lenders, the European Invest-

ment Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank,

were joined for Phase 2 by the AB Svensk

Exportkredit bank to provide the €1070 mil-

lion loans. The payment mechanism is based

on availability payments subject to perform-

ance and availability deductions and has an

element of shadow toll.

A long and winding roadDuring many of this project’s develop-

ment phases it seemed as if it would never

come to market. It took more than a decade

to reach its fi rst fi nancial close as progress

was thwarted by various groupings in a coun-

try where support for delivery of PPPs was at

times diffi cult.

Like many of the EU Accession countries,

Poland set out a large-scale investment pro-

gramme to upgrade a signifi cant proportion

of the country’s ageing road network, much

of which will be aided by EU funding. The A1

upgrade was fi rst mooted in the early 1990s

and was tendered in the latter stages of 1995

as a single-phase project. After a three-stage

tendering process GTC was selected as the

preferred bidder by the Polish transport min-

istry in 1997.

Shortly afterwards, the scheme ran into

major fi nancial diffi culties which were pri-

marily due to a fl aw in the country’s toll road

policy. Only by 2004, almost 10 years since the

ASK THE EXPERT

The road continuesWith the fi nancial close for Phase 2 of the A1 Motorway

in Poland, the long gestation period for this PPP project

comes to another major milestone. By Zoltán Pap

project fi rst came to market, amendments to

the toll road act had been made and fi nalised

– enabling the fi nancial close of Phase 1.

Negotiations on Phase 2 of the A1 Mo-

torway Project started soon after fi nancial

close of Phase 1 in September 2005 but were

suspended following the change in govern-

ment in Poland later that year. The current

government is pursuing an aggressive policy

of expanding motorway infrastructure that

is badly needed for Poland to realise its true

economic potential.

Lessons learnt?The A1’s delivery was impeded by a

lack of a consistent and transparent public

sector approach to infrastructure develop-

ment. This has recently changed as a central

public sector decision taking authority for

all facets of a PPP project’s delivery, a clear

regulatory and environmental frameworks

and strong fi nancial support mechanisms

has been introduced to assist in the future

of PPP developments.

Completing the project ahead of schedule

and exceeding the public sector’s delivery,

operations and maintenance expectations

together with capitalising on experiences

gained on Phase 1 signifi cantly contributed

to a smoother and more focused closure for

Phase 2.

Zoltán Pap is Project Development

Director of Intertoll Europe, an

independent toll and motorway

infrastructure developer and operator

– a wholly owned subsidiary of Group

Five, a major construction group in

South Africa. Pop has been involved

in developing motorway concession

projects since the 1990s. After

working for Intertoll overseas he joined

Intertoll Europe in 2001.

“An aggressive policy

of expanding motorway

infrastructure is badly

needed for Poland to

realise its true economic

potential”


Intertoll.indd 52Intertoll.indd 52 17/7/09 11:28:2417/7/09 11:28:24

INTERTOLL EUROPE IS AN INDEPENDENT TOLLAND MOTORWAY INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPER AND OPERATOR OFFERING THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:

A GROUP FIVE COMPANY

Contact Intertoll Europe for a professional and

dedicated partner for concession projects in Europe

• Concession development based on over twenty years of international experience

• Operations and maintenance of concession motorway infrastructure

• Toll infrastructure design and development

• Design and construction management of toll facilities

HEAD OFFICEIntertoll Europe ZRtFehérvári út 50-52Budapest - 1117 HungaryTel: +36 1 371 0762 Fax: +36 1 215 6165Web: www.intertoll.eue-mail: [email protected]

REGIONAL OFFICEIntertoll Europe – UKJudd House, 16 East StreetTonbridgeKent - TN9 1HGEnglandTel: + 44 1732 362 164Fax: + 44 1 732 770 420e-mail: [email protected]

A GROUP FIVE COMPANY

Inttertoll.indd 1Inttertoll.indd 1 20/7/09 09:06:2620/7/09 09:06:26


As the numbers of vehicles on

European roads continue to in-

crease, along with the current

diffi culties of the economic situa-

tion, the transport sector is due a

shake-up. All those involved in the industry

have a great deal to consider if they are to be

prepared for the numerous hurdles that are

predicted for the road transportation infra-

structure in coming years. In a bid to provide

suffi cient information to investors looking

to improve the current situation of the road

infrastructure, the Brussels Programme

Centre of the International Road Federation

has published Communication on the Future

of Transport in June 2009.

The report highlights the priorities that

ought to be taken into consideration by the

European Commission when formulating plans

for the future of transportation infrastructure,

such as support transport policies based on a

fair analysis of facts and fi gures. It also out-

lines other priorities as being improving the

safety level on the existing road infrastructure

and ensuring that the policies are enforced

into all EU-funded road projects.

Safety is an issue receiving much atten-

tion within the report. It cites that in 2006

there were almost 43,000 fatalities on the

roads of 27 of the European member states,

but that there is too little press attention

paid to the mounting deaths. Investments

are needed for safety improvements from the

infrastructure side, and each party involved

in the road transportation infrastructure

must be portioned a share of responsibility

– developing new technological solutions to

meet these demands.

The report specifi es safety needs as

being improved via road restraints systems

and the importance of shifting more account-

ability onto infrastructure, such as developing

research on the design of road widening and

promoting research on intelligent barriers.

Horizontal road markings are also named

as providing greater safety measures, as well

as vertical signs.

The continued increase in the mobility

of people and goods are the source of many

of the issues facing the road transportation

infrastructure – congestion, traffi c safety

and the sector’s environment footprint are

named as the issues needing innovative

solutions such as intelligent transportation

systems (ITS).

The wide-ranging applications of ITS are

ever-expanding across all modes of trans-

port – from electronic toll collection to auto-

matic road enforcement. The report notes the

emergency call technology eCall as having

“already proved to be an indispensable tool

to make a substantial contribution to road

safety,” and when fully implemented into all

member states by the proposed 2010, could

save an estimated 2500 lives a year.

Sustainability is another aspect of the

report. Road transport is cited as being

one of the main challenges for sustainable

development; a sustainable environment is

considered a positive infl uence on economic

growth and therefore important to factor into

policies. Rather than the reduction of road

transportation, the European Commission

is looking at other ways to promote sustain-

able transport, such as optimized use of all

transport modes and a better share of roads

by all of its users.

The environmental goal includes poli-

cies of developing a methodology to audit

the environmental quality of road projects,

as well as creating a pool of European ex-

perts to develop this methodology. The

socio-economic goal includes linking safety,

environment and mobility in the global

agenda and evaluating the ways to extend

the socio-economic benefi ts of improved

road networks.

The future of the European road trans-

portation infrastructure is a culmination of

all of these aims, and a partnership between

private and public is “necessary to continue

bettering the products and technologies

which we apply to the road infrastructure, so

that users can always be confi dent the best

products are at their service.”

ANALYSIS

ROUTE PLANNINGThe European road system requires greater cooperation,

increased innovation and more investment if it is to respond

to 21st century challenges.


ERFcolumn.indd 54ERFcolumn.indd 54 20/7/09 08:38:5020/7/09 08:38:50

SPEEDDAR AD.indd 1SPEEDDAR AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:52:5225/6/09 11:52:52


Asphalt pavement infrastructure is vast in scale. Of the

2.6 million miles of paved roads in the United States,

for example, over 94 percent are surfaced with asphalt.

Approximately 85 percent of the US’s airfi eld pavements

and parking lots are also surfaced with this material and

because of its extensive use, small changes in technology can make a

big difference in greenhouse gas emissions.

If you look at a cross section of any asphalt pavement, you can see

crushed stone particles of various sizes. These particles are held together

by a mortar of asphalt cement (glue) and fi ne particles. These materials

are combined in a manufacturing facility. The aggregate is dried and

mixed with the asphalt cement binder. Typically, the composition of the

mix is about fi ve percent asphalt cement and 95 percent stone, sand and

gravel by weight. How the material is manufactured and the ingredients

Mike Acott, President of the US’ National Asphalt Pavement Association tells EU Infrastructure

how breakthrough technologies in asphalt could help lower greenhouse gas emissions.

ASPHALT

MikeAccot_Napa.indd 56MikeAccot_Napa.indd 56 17/7/09 11:25:1917/7/09 11:25:19


technologies. Running warm-mix can reduce energy consumption during

the manufacturing of the asphalt pavement mixture by an average of 20

percent. This equates to a one million ton reduction in greenhouse gases.

Since 2004, implementation has proceeded with virtually no complica-

tions. Several government bodies have been very receptive to the use

of warm-mix, and agencies such as the US’s Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH), and the labour unions are fully engaged with warm-mix .

Warm-mix also makes it possible to increase the rates of reuse/recy-

cling even further. Research on this topic could be helpful in speeding the

rate of acceptance, but funding will also be needed both for emissions

studies and for monitoring of long-term pavement performance.

Reuse and recyclingThe use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has been widespread

for about 30 years. In fact, every year, more than 100 million tons of

asphalt pavement material is reclaimed across the globe and virtually

all of it is reused or recycled into new pavements. A singular quality of

asphalt cement in old pavement is that it can be completely rejuvenated

in the recycling process. It becomes an integral part of the binder. This is

referred to as the highest and best use. No other pavement material has

this unique quality.

In view of the high reuse/recycling rate in many states and evidence

that the quality of asphalt pavements incorporating RAP is equal to or

better than pavements using all virgin materials, there is a great oppor-

tunity to double the quantity of recycled asphalt pavement used within

fi ve years.

For asphalt pavement, it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emis-

sions simply by incorporating recycled asphalt in new pavement and in

the US specifi cally we estimate that we have 18 billion tons of asphalt

pavement already in place on America’s roads and highways. Because

of the ability to reuse and recycle this material indefi nitely, our existing

roadways are a resource for future generations.

Perpetual PavementPerpetual Pavement is the name given to an asphalt pavement that

is designed not to fail. Construction is in layers whose properties serve

a combination of different functions; they all add up to an extraordinar-

ily long-lasting pavement. Surface distresses may occur eventually,

but they do not penetrate deep into the pavement’s structure. Routine

used in the mix are key to understanding the opportunities for reducing

greenhouse gases.

The asphalt pavement industry is on the verge of several major

advances in asphalt pavement technology that have the potential to

transform the environmental impact of the paving industry. The break-

through technologies are warm-mix asphalt, reuse/recycling, Perpetual

Pavement, and porous asphalt.

Warm-mix asphaltWarm-mix technologies allow for production and placement of

asphalt pavement material at lower temperatures than conventional

“The asphalt pavement

industry is on the verge of

several major advances that

have the potential to transform

the environmental impact of the

paving industry”

Mike Acott

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cooling of the atmosphere, diminish erosion on banks, reduce particu-

lates in stream water after storms and improve water quality.

Asphalt for sustainabilityThe asphalt pavement industry has worked for the past three dec-

ades to create and deploy these sustainable technologies. Three major

environmental goals – conservation of natural resources, reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions, and improvements in water quality – are not

only achievable, they are already being achieved.

The potential benefi ts to the environment and the economy are clear,

and the challenge to the industry and its customers is now to ramp up the

implementation of these green pavement technologies. At NAPA specifi -

cally we are not only working actively with our partners in governmental

agencies and academia to advance asphalt’s green agenda, but we re-

cently testifi ed before US Congress to ask for a major research program

to help push deployment out onto our streets, roads, highways, runways

and parking lots. However, in the US we can say that, regardless of get-

ting funding from Congress or not, NAPA, along with the rest of the global

industry must continue to pave the way to a sustainable future.

maintenance involves infrequent milling of the top layer for recycling,

then placing a smooth, quiet, durable, safe new overlay. A Perpetual

Pavement never needs to be completely removed and replaced. In the

world of pavements, this is the ultimate in economic and environmental

sustainability.

Perpetual Pavements can mitigate climate change by reducing green-

house gas emissions, both now and for generations to come. Perpetual

Pavements reduce greenhouse gas production several ways. Since only

the surface is renewed, the base structure stays in place, thereby signifi -

cantly reducing greenhouse gases associated with acquisition of virgin

raw materials, production of pavement material and the placement of the

pavement on the road or highway. Greenhouse gas emissions associated

with complete removal and replacement of pavements that have reached

the end of their useful life is avoided. Taking a long view – 100 years or

more – building Perpetual Pavements is a highly sustainable practice.

Porous and open-graded asphalt pavementsPorous and open-graded asphalt pavements have been shown to

have a dramatic benefi cial effect on water quality. These pavements have

been used widely for over 30 years with an excellent record of success.

Open-graded pavement is made with same-size rocks, creating a web of

interlocking pores that allow water to fl ow through the surface.

Open-graded pavements are used mainly in two types of applica-

tions. First, open-graded friction courses are widely used for surfacing

roads and highways. The pavement layer directly beneath this is imper-

meable. During a rainstorm, instead of pooling on the surface or bounc-

ing off it, rain drains through the surface and out to the sides. Splash and

spray are greatly reduced, enhancing safety. Secondly, porous pavement

systems are stormwater management tools with an open-graded surface

over a stone recharge bed. The system is designed and constructed to

collect stormwater, which then infi ltrates into the ground.

Porous asphalt surfaces allow roads to function as linear stormwater

management systems and porous car parks will store stormwater, reduce

runoff, promote infi ltration and groundwater recharge, allow evaporative

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Asphalt has high sustainability creden-

tials, higher than any other paving material,

despite containing oil-based products. De-

spite its predominately black colour (although

for years it has been available in almost any

hue), asphalt has always been relatively

‘green’ in an environmental sense. Now as a

result of efforts across the asphalt sector, it is

getting greener still.

The recognition that sustainability has to

govern the world’s approach to how its raw

materials are used is forcing fresh appraisals

of all construction materials and techniques.

But all industries are still struggling towards

defi nitions of what precisely sustainability

should mean for them; early blunt measures

like carbon content are being jettisoned for

more sophisticated approaches recognising

that sustainability has social and economic,

as well as environmental, implications.

For roads and other paved surfaces this in-

cludes making roads and the products that go

into their creation as environmentally friendly

as possible. This is being done through all the

measures that would be expected, such as

careful design, development of longer last-

ing new products, and continuously lowering

emissions in the manufacturing stages. There

have been numerous examples of sustainabil-

ity improvements over the years from both

the individual company level and from across

industry co-operation.

The social and economic factors that enter

the sustainability equation include recognis-

ing that roads are needed for effi cient opera-

tion of modern economies, that they permit a

multitude of other environmentally benefi cial

activities to take place.

The problem in coming up with a defi ni-

tion of sustainability and just what targets

manufacturers and contractors should aim

at can be seen in the lack of agreement on

which parameters should be included in a

sustainability assessment, and the relative

weighting to give to the environmental, social

and economic factors. There are sometimes

confl icting pressures – within the European

community there are national governments

calling for major reductions in carbon emis-

sions as strategic goals, with local authorities

placing more value on social aspects.

The asphalt sector focus, up until now,

has been on developing more environmentally

friendly products. Among the technical ad-

vances made in recent years are quieter road

surfaces, more durable surfaces, low temper-

ature asphalts, skid resistant surfacing and

cold mix designs already allow a reduction of

some 30 percent in the energy used in manu-

facturing and the industry will continue to im-

prove on that. And, as climate change occurs,

products better able to cope with particular

conditions are already available.

It is now possible to take advantage of

the temperatures generated on road surfaces

by the sun to heat water. There are existing

development projects where water stored in

tanks under roads can be heated by sunlight,

cutting CO2 emissions by 50 percent compared

to conventional heating systems, minimising

the use of environmentally damaging salt to

combat icy roads. Environmental concerns are

possibly the most important but not the only

parameter to defi ne sustainability.

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

A green store of great value

Nynas Bitumen’s Steve Harris explains how one of the most sustainable of all construction

materials has always been beneath our feet and the wheels of our vehicles.

The most obvious sustainability plus

is that asphalt and the bitumen that coats

most of it is infi nitely recyclable – no asphalt

product need ever be sent to landfi ll, and it

can easily be re-used over and over again as

it will always have a value because of its stone

and bitumen content. The technology to use

recycled material is well understood, readily

available and proven on numerous projects.

So all of the asphalt currently in use across the

world can be looked on as a store of value for

future generations.

There are other sustainability related

factors to consider when choosing between

asphalt and an alternative surfacing material,

and when choosing between different asphalt

products. For example, asphalt scores very

high on durability measures and it is known

that extra upfront investment can bring the

benefi ts of long life pavements. These will

use hot mix asphalts, but the extra years of in

service life far outweigh the energy used and

emissions generated.

“The asphalt sector

focus, up until now, has

been on developing more

environmentally friendly

products”

Steve Harris is a

civil engineer who

originally studied

concrete technology

and soil mechanics.

However, during

his 30-year career

within the construction industry he has

specialised in asphalt engineering, including

pavement design and bitumen technology.

Over the last 10 years he has branched into

marketing, now working as the Product

Strategy Manager for Nynas Bitumen. In this

role Harris is responsible for co-ordinating

product related strategic development across

Nynas’ European business.

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Sustainability is a key component of land policies and land administration in-

stitutions. In your opinion, which technologies play a key role here and why?

Stig Enemark. The management and administration of land is a crucial issue.

Land administration systems (LAS) provide the infrastructure for implementa-

tion of land policies and land management strategies in support of sustainable

development. The infrastructure includes institutional arrangements, legal

frameworks, processes, standards, land information, management and dis-

semination systems, and technologies required to support allocation, land mar-

kets, valuation, control of use and development of interests in land.

The key technologies in support of land administration systems can be di-

vided into GIS tools and modern measurement tools. Modern GIS tools sup-

port e-Government in terms of designing and implementing suitable spatial

data infrastructures and implementing a suitable IT architecture for organising

spatial information that can improve the communication between administra-

tive systems and also establish more reliable data due to the use the original

data instead of copies.

In recent years the discussion has very much focused on these issues of

geo-information while the development of positioning technologies has per-

haps not received the recognition that it deserves. In coming years, positioning

infrastructure will become the fifth infrastructure after water, transport, energy

and telecommunications. This positioning infrastructure will increasingly be

seen as a critical component for achieving sustainable development in terms

of the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

How is technology development changing the face of the spatial informa-

tion world? How are new technologies revolutionising traditional survey-

ing disciplines?

SE. I focus here on positioning infrastructures. The primary components of the

positioning infrastructure are the GNSS satellite constellations themselves, GPS

being the best known to the public. GNSS could be considered as one of the

only truly global infrastructures, in that the base level of quality and accessibil-

ity is constant across the globe. A stand-alone GNSS receiver has a typical ac-

curacy of a few metres and under the wrong conditions, accuracy can be worse

than 10 metres. Therefore, many GNSS users require improved accuracy or im-

proved reliability with many requiring both.

Improving accuracy and reliability requires so-called ‘augmentation sys-

tems’ using ground infrastructure such as Continuously Operating Reference

Stations (CORS). Modern positioning infrastructure (including both GNSS and

CORS) can be grouped into three main categories: geodetic datum in support

of surveying and mapping activities; stable geodetic reference frame for pre-

cise measurement and monitoring of global processes, such as those associ-

Linking technology to land managementStig Enemark, President of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), explains theimportance of suitable infrastructure and sustainable land administration systems for thefuture wellbeing of land tenure, value, use and development.


“Information about land andland market processes thatcan be derived from effectiveLAS plays a critical role in alleconomies”

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ated with climate change and disaster risk manage-

ment; extension to the concept of a true infrastructure

that underpins the explosion in industrial and mass

market use of positioning technology such as inter-

active road maps and other real-time positioning.

What role is GNSS technology playing in particular?

SE. Land administration has evolved to become the

core component of land management that includes

the functions of land tenure systems, land valuation

and taxation, land-use planning and land develop-

ment. These functions are supported by comprehen-

sive and updated land information organised through

the concept of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI).

This has changed and extended the role of geo-

detic datum accordingly, GNSS technology being the

main tool. Recent trends have seen the emergence of

more efficient and cost effective solutions for cadas-

tral and other surveys. These can often be enabled only by GNSS/GPS and its

ability to work directly in the geodetic datum.

The growing use and propagation of CORS based on GNSS has enabled a

revolution in the ability to measure and monitor global processes, for example,

changes in sea level due to global warming; prediction of greenhouse gas con-

centrations or ozone depletion; changes in the planet’s overall water storage;

assisting disaster monitoring and management including earthquakes, tsunamis

and floods. These issues represent the key challenges of the new millennium.

The ideal way to transport the data required in modern real-time precise

positioning is to link the positioning infrastructure to a modern telecommu-

nications infrastructure (broadband internet and wireless mobile phone tech-

nologies based on internet protocols). This will tentatively revolutionise the

space-based data.

What place does imagery have in the surveying profession? How is this

developing?

SE. In many countries the role of national mapping agencies are changing into

providing core datasets rather than map series. Traditional topographic maps

are then replaced by databases available for various applications to be de-

signed and marketed by private business. In the professional world, such as

the surveying profession, images play a key role in terms of integrating data

from various sources and for a range of purposes.

Modern technologies have changed the use of satellite images and pho-

togrammetry. They have changed both the way of producing maps and even

how images are used for monitoring land use changes, environmental degra-

dation and preventing natural disasters, for example. The use of modern pho-

togrammetry in surveying work depends, of course, on the work that individual

surveyors are doing. They offer advanced tools to those surveyors that are in-

volved in planning or geo-business.

More generally, the concept provided by Google Earth and similar web

products has changed the perception of images to be something available at

your fingertips. The full impact of this invention is still to be seen.

In your opinion, what is the future direction for geospatial technology? What

are your focus areas for 2009/2010?

SE. The current situation is dominated by the finan-

cial crisis. Of course it affects the surveying discipline

and geospatial industry throughout the world, but it

also presents opportunities for the surveying pro-

fession in terms of arguing for the need and benefit

of having sustainable cadastral infrastructures and

land governance serving as a backbone for mort-

gage and systems for complex property commodi-

ties. Until the last couple of years, the developed

world often took land administration for granted and

paid little attention to it. However, the recent global

economic collapse has sharply focused world at-

tention on mortgage policies and processes and

their related complex commodities, as well as on the

need for adequate and timely land information.

Simply put, information about land and land market

processes that can be derived from effective LAS

plays a critical role in all economies.

Another opportunity is in the building of public infrastructures that are like-

ly to be initiated as an incentive to boost the economy. This would be money

well spent, giving the economy a boost and giving profits in the coming years.

To summarise the FIG agenda for the next couple of years, the key chal-

lenges of the new millennium are climate change; food shortage; energy

scarcity; urban growth, environmental degradation; and natural disasters.

These issues are all related to land governance and are going to be the core

area for surveyors; the land professionals. To effectively deal with this requires

high-level geodesy to create the models that can predict future changes and

modern surveying and mapping tools that can control implementation of new

physical infrastructure and provide the basis for the building of national spa-

tial data infrastructures. Sustainable land administration systems that can

manage the core functions of land tenure, land value, land use and land de-

velopment as well as facilitate a ‘spatial-enabled society’ will be the key issue

for the coming years. �

ABOUT FIG

FIG is an international non-governmental organisation

that gathers professionals from government, local

authorities and the private sector to discuss

technology and professional issues with researchers

and academics. This multi-stakeholder approach

brings people together whose joint knowledge can

benefit the development of the geospatial industry.

FIG is promoting the concept of a ‘spatial-enabled

society’, where a government uses ‘place’ as the key

means of organising information related to activities

ranging from health, transportation and the

environment to immigration, taxation and defence, and

when location and spatial information are available to

citizens and businesses to support these activities

Stig Enemark

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Everyone needs to re-think and in-

crease their focus on sustainability

and resource effi ciency. There are

many incentives for this change,

such as the on-going and ever more notice-

able climatic changes, market changes and

revisions in legislation and regulations.

Half of the world’s population lives in

urban areas. Seen from a sustainability per-

spective, and contrary to common belief, a

city is a useful geographic system. The city

creates opportunities for effi cient and opti-

mised solutions that reduce environmental

impact, such as the release of greenhouse

gases.

A composite housing stock, the possibil-

ity of increased residential density, energy-

effi cient transportation and communication

are some of the advantages that cities have

from a sustainability perspective. Cities also

offer rich opportunities for trading, social

contacts, development of ideas, knowledge

and skills, and of course for making a living.

Regional planning is the city’s grammar,

and its social and economical aspects are its

fl ow and pulse. Yet to be truly sustainable,

they must be competitive, attractive and

effi cient at the same time. One universal am-

bition must be low emissions of greenhouse

gases, achieving and maintaining social wel-

fare, providing a solid governance base for a

fair sharing of costs and revenues, avoiding

segregation and releasing social potentials.

With good communications people can

easily get to work, home and to leisure ac-

tivities. Good communications imply that

businesses can deliver goods and services

in a cost-effective manner as well. The reli-

ability of the transport system infl uences

the whole society. The driving forces are

often political with the objective to reduce

pollution, traffi c congestion and the risk of

climate change.

There is a huge opportunity for the rail

sector to develop a much more compelling

case for sustainability within the industry.

The rail sector can play a powerful role in

mitigating the negative impacts of cur-

rent transport systems, but it will have to

improve its own environmental, social and

economic performance if it is to become a

key sustainable transport solution.

Aviation and private car use are cur-

rently taking the brunt of the sustainability

critique, but are also starting to respond

at both company and sector level. Rail cur-

rently has a relatively better sustainability

profi le than most other transport modes,

but this position could be eroded, leaving

the sector vulnerable to future challenges.

The City Line in Stockholm, a €1.5 billion

rail-tunnel project with two railway tracks

running beneath Central Stockholm and two

new stations, is an example of a modern way

to solve the transport problems in a big city.

It is being built with a view to the needs of

the 2030s.

The vision is that by that time, Sweden

will be well on the way towards achieving

an ecologically, socially, culturally and eco-

nomically sustainable transport system. It

will be easier to make day trips for business

purposes between the major towns and

cities, and by then the Swedish rail network

will also be connected to the rail network

serving the rest of Europe.

Rail passenger transport will be so de-

veloped in terms of capacity and frequency

of services that it will give people the chance

to commute to and from work over an even

greater area than at present.

Furthermore, by 2030 effective rail

connections and terminals for goods will

have been created, which will improve the

opportunities for transport on the railways.

The City Line has an important role to play

in this vision. It will allow full advantage

to be taken of the investments that have

already been made in the region. The City

Line is also a precondition for the invest-

ments that are being planned to improve

rail traffic in Stockholm and the rest of

the country. All investments in improving

the railway network – both those already

introduced and those planned – will help

to develop a transport system that is sus-

tainable in the long term and reduces the

pressure on the environment.

Tracking progressEskil Sellgren explains how the rail network has

the potential to become a key sustainable transport

solution.

ESKIL

SELLGREN

Eskil Sellgren is the Deputy

Managing Director for WSP

Sweden, with 2200 staff in Sweden

and 10,000 staff in the WSP Group

plc. WSP plays a leading role in

major transport and infrastructure

initiatives for governments

and transport organisations

worldwide in both the public and

private sectors. Sellgren is the

Deputy Chairman of Nordic Road

Association as well as board

member of WSP Finland, but also

active in the Swedish initiative

Re-thinking Construction, FIA.

“There is a huge

opportunity for the rail

sector to develop a much

more compelling case for

sustainability within the

industry”

ASK THE EXPERT

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All across Europe our roadways

are clogged with traffi c suffering

from large populations that they

were simply not built to support.

In nations like the US, where

many major highways were constructed long

before modern technology was available to

support such wear and tear, the situation

is critical. Coupled with this, air travel is no

longer the glamorous experience it once was.

Crowded airports, fl ight delays and onerous

security checks all conspire to make fl ying

more chore than pleasure.

In light of such conditions, the idea

that we need smart transportation systems

that equal the needs of the 21st Century is

fi rmly upon us and, as a result, the concept of

high-speed rail is sparking renewed interest.

High-speed rail may not be technically new,

but with a new interest coming from nations

such as the US and Britain, it rail is taking on

a fresh and exciting dynamic.

Currently in the UK for example the only

evidence of any high-speed rail is the 109km

rail link to the Channel Tunnel, which, critics

say, just isn’t enough. The argument is that,

quite frankly, there is no reason why high-

speed rail can’t be done on a massive scale

in Britain, the country that not only invented

the railways but, through High Speed One,

UP TO SPEEDRailways created a transport revolution in the 19th Century. As trains and lines get faster and more sophisticated, are we on the verge of a new leap forward?

already has a state-of-the-art high speed line

(even if it is comparatively short and fails to

connect any major UK cities). But if Britain,

or the US for that matter, really is to imple-

ment a high-speed network, it surely has a

long way to go. In fact, as President Obama

himself said in a recent statement, “I know

that this vision has its critics. There are those

who say high-speed rail is a fantasy. But its

success around the world says otherwise.”

In response to this, EU Infrastructure

examines some of Europe’s successful high-

speed rail networks in order to see what

lessons nations who are seeking to improve

their own networks can learn from them.

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FRANCE

The fi rst TGV service in France was launched in 1981 between Paris and

Lyon, cutting the journey time between the two cities to under two hours.

Since then the network has been massively extended, fi rst to include a line

between Lyon and Marseilles, and then new lines from Paris to Lille in the north,

Alsace in the east and Le Mans going west. Today France's TGV network is nearly

2000 km in length, which is almost as large as Japan's leading network, and four

lines are currently being built simultaneously, totalling over 640km in length, all

due for completion by 2015.

It was actually President Sarkozy who accelerated the high-speed programme

as a key point of his fi scal stimulus plan back in December 2008. At the time, he

told a press conference: "It is certain we are not wrong doing this. Mobility is a need

and the boss of SNCF, who is here, won't disagree." That boss is Guillame Pepy, but

in contrast to Sarkozy's defi ance, Pepy has noted several mistakes in the planning

of the network. One of the biggest, he says, was not building the Paris-Lyon line as

a four-track railway from the outset because, as is happening now in Japan with

the Tokyo to Osaka line, the TGV line is now nearing saturation point. As a result

planning is now underway for a second line between the two conurbations.

Nonetheless, as the French high-speed network continues to be built out and

become interconnecting with neighbouring countries, it appears that a series of

'Trans-European Networks' could become a reality. In fact, plans

show that the Paris to Lille and the

Channel Tunnel lines will soon link

through, via Brussels, into the new

Dutch high-speed line up to Rotterdam

and Amsterdam, cutting the journey

time between Paris and Amsterdam to a

mere two hours. Further to this, exten-

sions to the Lyon to Marseilles line that

are currently under construction (or in

the planning stages) include plans to go

south-east from Marseilles toward Nice

and ultimately through to Italy, south

toward Montpellier (through a 17-mile

tunnel under the Pyrenees) to Barcelona,

and easterly to Turin, Italy to join up with

the North Italian high-speed network.

The interesting thing about TGV is that

as its popularity has soared it has been paralleled by a willingness from the French

authorities to help pay for the investment. In fact, only two percent of the cost of the

original Paris to Lille line was paid for by local authorities, and by contrast the cur-

rent Le Mans to Rennes line is covered by 39 percent by local authorities, showing a

much greater cover over time. However, the TGV does still face a series of challenges.

Outside of Paris, for example, there are currently only 18 TGV stations for the entire

network. That means that there are currently no stops for medium or even some

large towns, and research shows that, despite some people arguing otherwise, it is

not the case that high-speed rail requires there to be few stations and only city-to-

city services. In fact, evidence suggests that intermediate stations are, if suitably

engineered, entirely consistent with the highest speed end-to-end running.

me a reality. In fact, plans

h

e

a,

h

at



ITALY

The Italians actually implemented high-speed rail

three years before the French by opening a line

from Rome to Florence in 1978. Now, 31 years

later, the line has been extended north and south to

form a nearly complete network from Milan to Naples

via Bologna, Florence and Rome. The last major section,

which is due to open later this year, will link Florence

to Bologna and will include an impressive near-50 miles

of tunnels, nine individual tunnels in all, to get the line

through the Apennines, halving the existing journey time

to just 30 minutes. In addition, a north-west to north-east

line is also at various stages of operation, planning and

construction, aiming to link Turin, Milan, Verona, Venice

and Trieste by 2016.

From 2011, a competitor service will be set up in

Italy that will also run on the Milan to Rome line. Ac-

cording to Boston Consulting Group study of a recent

survey of 13,000 pan-European distance travellers from

13 countries, more than 30 percent of passengers would

like to switch modes, and in some countries that propor-

tion is actually as high as 65 percent. As the report says:

“Considering the size of the market this presents a huge

opportunity for alternative providers, particularly given

the fact that by 2020 passengers will be able to travel

faster from A to B via high-speed rail than by plane on

nearly half of Europe's busiest air routes.”

Similarly to France there are still challenges that are

facing the Italian network. While the location of Rome's

city-centre station, for example, proves to be the network's

greatest advantage in terms of city-centre business, it is

also the network's biggest disadvantages in terms of fast,

convenient access by car and public transport for those

with further to go. In other words, it is those operators

that can provide the most seamless door-to-door journey

across multiple modes, usually by working with other

companies, who will have an obvious advantage.

SPAIN

Spain entered the high-speed era back in 1992 when

it opened the Madrid-Seville line. Today Spain is

considered as the most ambitious country across

Europe in terms of growth of a high-speed network. With

its most recent completion of the Madrid to Barcelona line,

Spain now boasts an impressive 1600km of high-speed rail

in operation. Further to this, there is both another 2200km

under construction and 1700km in the planning stages.

The network is also growing outside of the Spanish

borders, with a key construction project currently working

to connect the Spanish and French networks. As a result of

this, an intense debate is now underway to decide whether

the new line will carry freight and passenger traffi c, or just

passenger. But the most notable feature of Spain's high-

speed rail has to be the sheer scale and rapidity of its devel-

opment, especially considering Spain is a country without

an especially strong railway tradition. Nonetheless, the

growth has been immense. Back in 2005, for example, the

Spanish Government published a national high-speed plan

with a target to build 10,000 km of line by 2020, connecting

all of the nation's capitals, accounting for 90 percent of the

population. The proposal also estimated that the cost will be

met from allocating 1.5 percent of the GDP to national in-

frastructure investment. With a budget of 250 billion euros,

half of that will go to rail. In fact, this year alone Spain will

be spending a massive total of 10 billion euros on rail infra-

structure investment, with six billion going to high-speed

rail. By comparison the UK has an 11.5 billion euro budget

for capacity enhancement for the next fi ve years.

What's more, the Madrid to Barcelona line, which only

opened last February, offering riders a journey time of two

hours and 38 minutes for the 592km journey, has now cut

that journey time to two hours and 15 minutes. When the

service opened it only had 16 percent of the combined train

and air market, now it holds 48 percent and expectations

are that this will rise to 70 percent, which aligns with other

lines such as those from London to Paris and Brussels.


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What can you tell us about the impact that in-

creased European legislation is having on the

railway product market?

Frank Walenberg. The impact currently is very

large, and what’s more, it is still growing. Firstly

certain components must comply with European

directives in general, and then under the inter-

operability directives, a number of components

must comply there as well to specific railway re-

quirements. In addition, complete systems like

infrastructure systems must comply with

European directives as well. There is no way

around it.

Then, apart from European and national leg-

islation, certification is also undertaken on a vol-

untary basis thanks to agreements made by

manufacturers and clients. This means that

clients can establish the specification that your

suppliers’ products and processes have to meet.

Then, as a supplier, you have to be able to show

that you meet these standards.

In effect, we depend very much on

European legislation and that obviously has a

very important impact on us.

So how are your products helping those in the

industry to understand the specific require-

ments that the railway system have to meet?

FW. I think there’s two ways. One is through a

very formal way, which covers the fact that these

certain certificates have to be issued. They are

mandatory; they must be done. That’s one way,

but the other way is, of course, in the many dif-

ferent phases we assist in, in not only having the

certificates, because that’s our verification, but

also in integrating the components and the sub-

systems into the railway system. So we provide

verification, through testing and in discussions

with authorities, to put the equipment into op-

eration. We also assist in integration testing and

things like that.

Then, within the voluntary domain, co-op-

erating railway companies have established

rules in the UIC (Union Internationale des

Chemins de fer) for the application of voluntary

certification. It is expected that these rules,

which align with the OTIF (International treaty for

the exchange of rolling stock between railways)

will soon be split into rules for technical accep-

tance and rules for exploitation.

Then the products and processes involved

in technical acceptance will have to be certified

on a mandatory basis, while for exploitation, vol-

untary certification should prove to be sufficient.

And how are the notable trends within the fields

of safety, reliability, and availability shaping the

future of the industry?

FW. I think the biggest change that we will see

in the future is that Europe is likely to play an

even more important role in the market than it

does already. So many of the things already as-

sociated with these interoperability directives

will also come under the safety directives that

are gradually being applied to the market.

For instance the requirements for safety as-

sessment, up until now, are more or less unde-

fined, but they are now becoming more defined

through the European rules. Subsequently, as

the number of European requirements also in-

creases, we now see a large number of these

items growing and the importance and the in-

fluence from Europe is growing with it. n


EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW

Frank Walenberg is the Director of Kema

Rail Transport Certification, the notified body

for mandatory and voluntary certification of

all railway products and systems in the

Netherlands, which performs certification,

assessment and verification under European

directives and European rules for

interoperability.

Long train runningFrank Walenberg explains how more legislation fromEurope is having an effect on the railway productsmarket and details how this change is going to impactthe future of the industry.

KEMA EXEC:24sept 17/07/2009 16:03 Page 72

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Having an organizational level that meets the

demands of complex logistics is key to airport

success. What are the risks associated with a

design that fails to do this?

Daniël Eijgendaal. In all our projects we aim to

identify, specify and implement, the technical

infrastructure that best supports the objectives

and processes of our clients. In our designs

technology always plays a role. Technology,

simple or complex, is however only a means to

an end. When designs fail to fully support the

processes, the people involved have to fi ll the

gap. It is interesting to see how the fl exibility

of motivated and trained staff can compensate

for less than perfect facilities and systems. Ob-

viously there are limits to what even the best

people can do. On the other hand, supporting

such staff with properly designed systems and

infrastructure will really allow them to shine

and make big improvements in effi ciency and

level of service. Airports that consistently get

high marks from passengers always have the

combination of great staff and well-designed

facilities and systems.

How has the issue of airport security intensifi ed

over the last 10 years? What has this increased

focus meant for your business?

DE. The aviation industry has responded to

a series of incidents by introducing stricter

checks, both of passengers and their baggage,

and of staff and goods. Examples are manda-

tory baggage screening as required in the EU

from 2003 and the tightened regulations on

carrying liquids gels and aerosols in hand

luggage. These measures, and the changed

perception of threats, have spurred innovation

and necessitated system upgrades on many

airports.

Incorporating new technologies in existing

airports and ensuring these security meas-

ures don’t impact operations and effi ciency

has been, and we expect will continue to be,

a factor in many projects. Equally important

is that it has helped us to differentiate our

role as consultant from that of suppliers and

contractors. We look at the bigger picture, at

our clients’ real operational needs, not just

at systems and equipment. But by making

sure our consultants are fully aware of what is

available in the market we can translate those

operational needs into practical designs. We

bring concepts to life.

With advanced technical possibilities, the

impact of an airport on the environment can

now be signifi cantly reduced. What are you

doing to promote environmentally conscious

airport designs?

DE. Many of our clients are committed to reduce

the environmental impact of their airport. Often

they fi nd it diffi cult to translate their ambitions

into practical, and economically sound, meas-

ures. The built environment is a major energy

user worldwide and airports are no exception.

We fi nd we can really help our clients in this

area. It is often surprising to see how much can

be achieved with standard measures. Reduc-

tions in total energy consumption of between

15 percent and 50 percent are possible without

having to use advanced technologies. In many

projects we use rating systems like LEED or

BREEAM. Even where these systems don’t fi t

the local conditions or standards they help to

get all project partners aligned and improve

team and stakeholder communication.

What are some of the recent projects have you

been involved with? What can you tell us about

the technologies currently being optimized in

modern-day airport management systems?

DE. Some recent projects include new terminal

buildings in Sofi a (Bulgaria), Cairo (Egypt) and

Gabarone (Botswana). A major current project

is the new midfi eld terminal at Abu Dhabi In-

ternational Airport (UAE). In our home market

we have a continuous stream of projects at Am-

sterdam Airport Schiphol, a client with a clear

vision on continuous process improvement and

sustainable design. We have been, or still are,

involved in large and small projects in Saudi

Arabia, Yemen, Russia and Gibraltar.

In many of the terminal building projects

IT infrastructure and information and manage-

ment systems are an important part of our

scope of work. Information Technology has

been a key driver in bringing down operating

cost of airlines and this is refl ected in modern

airport terminal designs. The Simplifying the

Business (StB) initiative is at the core of this.

What do you think the future trends for the

aviation industry are likely to be? What chal-

lenges are associated with such trends?

DE. Two major drivers in the industry in the

last decade have been increased security and

cost reduction. We expect these factors to

continue. The challenge is to ensure increased

security, with all the additional equipment

required to achieve that, assists in improving

(operational) effi ciency. Opportunities defi -

nitely exist to achieve this, think of combining

biometric ID documents with internet based

reservation systems. Using technology to

create a seamless travel experience for the

passenger whilst at the same time reduce cost

for the stakeholders and improve security be-

comes a real possibility.

And although the current economic crisis

and low oil prices mean energy effi ciency

general and sustainability in general are not

fi rst on peoples’ minds, we are convinced this

will change very quickly. Running a sustainable

business, minimizing carbon emissions, will be

an equally strong driver in the next decades.

The high lifeDaniël Eijgendaal answers our questions on security in the

aviation industry, and tells us what the future holds.

EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW

Daniël Eijgendaal is member of the Board

of Directors of Deerns Consulting Engineers

and Manager of the Airports Department. He

has an in-depth knowledge of aeronautical

systems (CNS), airfi eld lighting, airport

management and information systems.

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In the hot seatIn the hot seat

Robert O’Meara, Communications Manager

at the European airport

trade association ACI

EUROPE, answers our

questions.

ACI EUROPE, which is based in Brussels, Belgium, represents the

interests of over 400 airports in 46 countries. ACI is the only worldwide

professional association of airport operators and the European division

accounts for over 90 percent of commercial air traffi c in the region.

What’s more it boasts some impressive fi gures, having in 2007, for

which the latest fi gures are available, member airports welcoming 1.47

billion passengers and handling 17.4 million metric tonnes of cargo and

20.8 million aircraft movements.

In addition, ACI EUROPE also promotes the exchange of industry

know-how through internal committee structures and an extensive

schedule of conferences and exhibitions. Through the organisation’s

efforts to actively seek out the views of airport members, ACI EUROPE

generates comprehensive common policies that serve as a reference to

the entire aviation industry. “What we do is work on a day-to-day basis

with the institutions of the European Union, the European Civil Aviation

Conference (ECAC) and the European Agency for the Safety of Air Navi-

gation (EUROCONTROL),” explains Robert O’Meara, Communications

Manager at ACI EUROPE.

AIRPORT FOCUS

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As far back as the 1970s, European airports sought to address

their impact on the environment. Proactive environmental manage-

ment has not only become standard practice but a must for any air-

port, encompassing issues such as noise, biodiversity, air and water

quality. While the focus has mainly been on local environmental

impact, an increasing number of airports are now looking at address-

ing their impact on climate change. Several

individual airports operators have already

developed plans to reduce their carbon

emissions, with AVINOR in Norway and LFV

Swedish airports having already achieved

carbon neutrality for airport operations

under their direct control.

In June 2008 the General Assembly of

ACI EUROPE adopted a landmark resolu-

tion on climate change, whereby European

airports committed to reduce their carbon

emissions, with the ultimate goal of becom-

ing carbon neutral. The resolution also com-

mitted ACI EUROPE to develop, within a year,

a Europe-wide accreditation programme

providing airports with the tool to work on

their commitment to reduce CO2 from their operations.

In what ways are European airport operators using technology to im-

prove their operations? What do you consider to be the biggest recent

advances?

RO’M. We are using technology to improve our operations, that’s

true; for starters there are enormously elaborate robotic systems

within baggage handling and also we have iris recognition software

and hardware that is now being used more and more frequently for

accessing airport sites, or, in some cases, for security and border

control.

What impact is the current downturn having on airports across

Europe?

Robert O’Meara. This is the biggest crisis we’ve seen for a very long

time. This is bigger than the effects of 9/11, it’s bigger than SARS and

it’s bigger than any recent crisis we have experienced. In fact, the fall in

traffi c over the course of this year will probably add up to something the

equivalent of 10 times what happened

after 9/11, which is just huge. We have

just released our traffi c report for May,

which has seen something of a relapse.

April was an improvement (still nega-

tive at minus 4.8 percent), primarily

because Easter fell during that month,

but for May, air passenger traffi c is

back down to minus 9.1 percent.

Through this recession there are

three things that all airports are having

to deal with. Obviously we are fi nding

that less passengers on fl ights and less

fl ights overall equates to less aeronau-

tical revenue; but, as well as that, less

passengers going through the terminal

means less commercial revenue as well. Then, to make matters worse,

the price of capital investment for infrastructure has shot through the

roof.

Of course, capital intensive businesses are suffering in general, but

airports are struggling in particular. At the same time, you then have

very keen awareness of the climate change issue that is choosing very

visible targets, such as the aviation industry.

As airport operators are faced with both catering for increased demand

for air travel as well as minimising environmental impact, how is it pos-

sible to balance these seemingly competing priorities?

RO’M. No question, aviation is a

prominent and emotive sector that

is also a bellweather for national and

international economic growth. Such

prominence naturally carries responsi-

bilities, in particular in relation to the

environment. Believe it or not, the avi-

ation sector as a whole is working to-

gether to achieve environmental wins.

A lot of work is being undertaken at the

moment by aircraft manufacturers, air-

lines and air traffi c controllers in terms

of looking at composite construction,

biofuels and operational effi ciencies.

As the face of aviation on the ground,

airports are doing everything possible

to make sure that when the aeroplane

is on the ground, it’s working as ef-

fi ciently as possible.

“Aviation is a prominent

and emotive sector that

is also a bellweather for

national and international

economic growth”

The global fi nancial crisis is having a major impact on passenger numbers across

Europe. Figures from May 2009 show a drop of 8.3 percent from a year ago. Not even

the biggest operators are immune.

GOING DOWN

6.6 %7.4 %7 %

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and-away the biggest airport in the world. This is just one example of

many and the concern is that because of the airport capacity crunch

that Europe is facing and the absence of proper airport policies in a

number of member states of the EU, Europe will, at least in terms of

global connectivity, fall far behind.

Electrical ground vehicles are also something that more and more

airports are adopting, and that falls in line with their environmental

strategies. There are a number of different options on the market that

can achieve this sort of thing, too: from hydrogen, to LPG, to electrical

cars, to hybrids, and all of those are already in place at different air-

ports across Europe. In some countries, it’s even more advanced than

elsewhere. In Stockholm’s airport, for example, a very high percent-

age of airport-based vehicles are electric, including taxis.

Airports are very much like mini-cities. Because you have all of

these different companies and all these different emissions sources,

whatever’s happening on the outside world is often mirrored in the

micro-site that is the airport and that is very interesting.

And fi nally, what do you believe the key priorities for Europe’s airport

operators over the coming years?

RO’M. Well, obviously in the immediacy, it’s survival: staying profi t-

able and surviving. But, because of the economic climate this year there

will be losses, and, as we have already seen, a couple of airports have

had to lay staff off. We’re quite literally operating in the shadow of our

former industry and our priorities refl ect this.

As I’ve already outlined, airports are regarding the environment

and the issue of climate change as a key priority, in terms of operation,

but also in terms of earning their license to grow.

That feeds into another key priority: Capacity. As EUROCONTROL

recently reminded us with the third edition of its ‘Challenges’ report

(Challenges of Growth (2008)), Europe is facing an airport capacity

crunch that will see air traffi c nearly double by 2030. At the moment, it

looks like 19 airports will be seriously congested by then and that fi gure

could rise substantially.

In addition, we are mindful of the issue of security. Before 9/11

security costs accounted for up to eight percent of operating costs at

European airports. They currently account for around 35 percent of op-

erating costs – an incredible rise. In the US, security is paid by the state,

but in Europe, airports have to pay for it. At the moment the European

Commission has a deadline to fi nd a proposal for the removal of the

ban on liquids, aerosols and gels. That deadline is April 2010, which

although ambitious, ACI EUROPE is working with the EC and with the

security technology companies to try

to achieve it. while also ensuring that

the agreed technological solutions are

feasible on a grander scale both op-

erationally and fi nancially, in terms of

deployment.

Then you also have connectivity

across the globe – which is evolving at

incredible speed. Take Dubai for in-

stance. Dubai already has a very good

airport capable of taking about 70 mil-

lion passengers a year. But, the new,

seperate one, which is currently under

construction, will be capable of taking

somewhere in the region of 130 million

passengers a year – making it by-far-

Air travel has long been one of the environmental

movement’s biggest bogeymen. A new initiative hopes

to change that perception.

In June 2009, ACI Europe launched the Airport Carbon

Accreditation scheme at its 19th Annual Congress. The

programme will assess and recognise airports’ efforts to

manage and reduce CO2 emissions within their direct control. It

will also take into account their collaborative efforts with airlines,

air traffi c controllers, ground handlers and others on the airport

site. The launch of the programme - which is voluntary - sees a

total of 31 European airports applying to become Airport Carbon

Accredited. More applicants are expected in the months ahead.

The scheme is comprised of four levels of accreditation

– Mapping, Reduction, Optimisation and Neutrality, and will

be administered by leading consultancy WSP Environmental

and overseen by an independent Advisory Board made up of

representatives of the European Commission, ECAC (European

Civil Aviation Conference) and EUROCONTROL.

Speaking about the scheme, then President of ACI Europe

and CEO of Athens International Airport Dr Yiannis Paraschis,

“In launching Airport Carbon Accreditation today, we are turning

our commitment to reduce carbon emissions into concrete

action. Airport Carbon Accreditation is a genuinely demanding,

scientifi cally robust and institutionally-endorsed programme. The

fact that we are doing this in the midst of the worst ever trading

conditions speaks volumes about how serious we are about

taking on the challenge of climate change.”

TURNING THE AIR GREEN

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IMPROVING THE INDUSTRYRoberto Kobeh González, President of

the International Civil

Aviation Organisation,

outlines the prospects

and issues of global civil

aviation.

SafetyFor the ICAO, fi nding new and innovative

ways to further improve safety will remain

our fi rst priority. As the operational and

regulatory context evolves, we will pursue a

more comprehensive approach, which takes

into account economic, social and geopoliti-

cal realities. It is a results and performance-

driven strategy. We will tackle safety issues

in an integrated fashion, going to the root

of the problem and investing precious time

and money where they are most effective in

coming up with concrete and lasting results.

Our overall strategy is contained in the

ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP). The

GASP is a global strategy for aviation safety

and provides a common frame of reference

for all stakeholders, both government and

industry. The GASP refl ects an extraordinar-

ily high level of co-operation with all major

stakeholders, by incorporating the Global

Aviation Safety Roadmap developed by the

air transport industry, in co-operation with

ICAO. The GASP, in conjunction with the

Safety Roadmap, can guide national or re-

gional safety teams on the implementation

of best safety practices as well as a process

to assess their current status at a national or

regional level and identify gaps that need to

be addressed. It is a performance-based ap-

proach that focuses energies and resources

on activities that provide the highest return

for increasing safety.

Security Aviation security is another dimension

of safety. Unlike safety, however, it is more

diffi cult to manage. Persons can commit acts

of unlawful interference anytime, anywhere,

and for any reason. Governments have the

diffi cult and unenviable task of balancing

the need for maintaining and encouraging

anti-terrorist vigilance, while putting in place

workable security measures that do not com-

promise the effi ciency of the air transport

sector. The delicate nature of this exercise

is compounded by the fact that considerable

economic damage can occur even when ter-

rorist plans are foiled.

ICAO’s Aviation Security Plan of Action

adopted in February 2002, in wake of the

events of 9/11, provides a series of pro-

grammes and activities designed to help

states comply with ICAO security standards

While tackling challenges has

been the focus of our ongo-

ing efforts to strengthen

all aspects of air transport

operations, recent events

have shifted our focus towards dealing

with more immediate issues. For example in

2007, the airline industry recorded its fi rst

profi t since 2000, as a result of a 19 percent

improvement in fuel effi ciency and an 18

percent reduction in non-fuel costs. The

future looked promising.

Then came the global fi nancial crisis and

higher fuel prices, pushing the industry back

into the red. Many airlines have taken steps

to counter the rapid increase in oil prices,

reducing the workforce and contemplating

mergers. Fortunately, fuel prices have begun

to ease, but volatility in the marketplace and

uncertainty around the health of the global

economy make it diffi cult to predict what

will happen.

However, the International Civil Avia-

tion Organisation (ICAO) has formulated a

medium-term forecast that points to an in-

dustry recovery in 2010. Financially airlines

of ICAO member states post an operating

loss for 2008 and profi ts in 2009 and 2010.

In relation to passenger traffi c, growth will

be lower than anticipated in earlier forecasts

but recover in 2010. This outlook reaffi rms

the often proven resilience of the air trans-

port industry and the fact that our overall

challenge will be growth.

AVIATION

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and procedures. The issuance of ICAO stand-

ard machine readable travel documents,

especially ePassports enhanced with bio-

metric identifi cation, is an effective way of

increasing the security of air travel.

In the long-term, we must diligently

assess new and emerging threats, such as

bacteriological and chemical weapons, man-

portable air defence systems (MANPADS)

and the misuse of civil aircraft themselves

as weapons of destruction. Our objection is

to continually monitor and upgrade exist-

ing security processes to ensure that they

are commensurate with the level of threat

identifi ed, while expediting the clearance of

passengers and cargo at airports.

Air navigationAgain, while it has become more diffi cult

to forecast traffi c growth over the next few

years, we can certainly expect an increase in

the number of aircraft fl ying the skies of the

world. There will be a corresponding need for

high performance air navigation systems to

cope with the anticipated airspace conges-

tion that will result. In some regions, con-

gestion has already reached critical levels,

affecting en route, terminal and aerodrome

operations.

ICAO is actively supporting states im-

plementation of initiatives described in the

Global Air Navigation Plan that contribute to

ensuring the safe, effi cient and sustainable

operation of the aviation system. Initiatives

(PBN) provide tremendous benefi ts in terms

of reduction in fuel use and CO2 emissions.

Our vision is for an interoperable and

seamless global air traffi c management

(ATM) system, that applies to all users,

during all phases of fl ight, and that meets

agreed levels of safety, provides for op-

timum economic operations, is environ-

mentally sustainable and meets national

security requirements.

In September 2008, ICAO hosted the

Forum on Integration and Harmonisation

of NextGen and SASAR into the Global

ATM Framework, in an effort to allow all

stakeholders an opportunity to share knowl-

edge about the future of ATM systems.

NextGen, the programme being developed

by the United States and SESAR, Europe’s

programme to meet its future aviation

needs, along with initiatives underway

in other states must evolve within the

framework provided by ICAO’s Global Air

Traffi c Management Operational Concept

and Global Air Navigation Plan.

EnvironmentPerhaps the most daunting challenge we

face is helping to protect the environment.

The fourth report of the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), confi rms

that climate change is real, much of it likely

due to an increase in greenhouse gas con-

centration from human activity. Aviation is

estimate to account for about two percent of

human produced CO2, the major greenhouse

gas.

Although aircraft today are about 70

percent more fuel effi cient than they were 30

years ago and newer models like the Airbus

380 and Boeing 787 are even more effi cient,

projected increases in traffi c will outpace

our capacity to bring down greenhouse

gas emissions from aviation. The solution

lies in the development of a combination

of technical, operational and market-based

measures, under the leadership of ICAO as

stipulated in Assembly Resolution A36-22.

In 2009, the ICAO will hold a number

of important meetings on environmental

protection, including two groundbreaking

events on alternative fuels – a preparatory

workshop in February and a full-fl edged con-

ference in November. This latest initiative,

based on conclusive scientifi c research,

underscores the view that the ultimate goal

must be the elimination of carbon emission

from aviation.

Long-term, the world aviation commu-

nity will continue to develop the full range

of options currently available – improved

operational and technological measures and

various market-based measures, such as

emissions trading and carbon offsets.

PersonnelTo address all of these individual chal-

lenges effectively, and others that may later

appear on the horizon, will require a corre-

sponding highly skilled aviation workforce.

The problem is that in the next few years,

there will be a massive wave of retirements

from the current workforce. The growth of

the industry in certain regions is not consist-

ent with current training and capacity.

Moreover, an increasingly automated,

dynamic and complex working environment

is fundamentally reshaping the nature and

relationships of safety-critical jobs. Pilots

are becoming information managers in an

extremely sophisticated glass cockpit;

air traffi c controllers who were used to an

essentially manual activity have to adapt

to a fully automated series of procedures;

and mechanics identifi ed with tool boxes

are now involved in trend analysis and

predictive maintenance.

That is not all. The quest for optimum

safety goes beyond the men and women

involved in the operational dimension of

aviation, it also encompasses the equally

complex discipline of aviation management.

Managers largely defi ne, promote and help

sustain the safety culture of their respective

organisations. This has become increasingly

challenging with the rapid and sustained

growth in traffi c and the no less rapid evolu-

tion of high technology and its transforma-

tion of all aspects of the workplace. In the

transition between the old and the new way

of doing business, whether in operations or

in management, a delicate balance must be

achieved between the current set of skills and

those that will be needed in the future.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

The ICAO works to achieve its vision

of safe, secure and sustainable

development of civil aviation through

co-operation amongst its member

states. To implement this vision, the

organisation has established the

following strategic objectives for the

period 2005-2010:

Continuity

SECURITY

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RULE OFLAW

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Airports are caught in the middle of oppo-

site dynamics: growing global demand

for capacity, profitability and reducing

the carbon footprint of operations.

At Combibox Systems of Sweden, we be-

lieve our in-ground support systems are a way

to progress.

The in-ground approachThe in-ground servicing of aircraft is actual-

ly not a new concept. In Sweden, Denmark and

Norway this has been a common approach for

well over 20 years.

The concept promotes the idea of service

pits in the apron close to the aircraft service con-

nection points. The services include the essen-

tial media that a parked aircraft needs on

turnaround. This is 400Hz ground power, pre-

conditioned air for cooling and heating, potable

water, jet fuel and discharge of wastewater.

The concept allows for a clean apron re-

lieved from cable clutter and mobile equipment

and immediate point-of-use availability. We

argue that this is the most efficient, cost effec-

tive and environmentally friendly way of provid-

ing ground support.

The infrastructure investment creates a firm

base of revenue with a low total cost of owner-

ship for the airport enabling service charging.

The maintenance costs are a fraction of main-

taining a fleet of mobile equipment and the air-

lines also benefit from lowering their turnaround

cost. The point-of-use availability also enhances

the service provided. The typical payback for the

investment is around 24 months.

Although the concept has been installed,

not only in Scandinavia, but also worldwide

since the early 1980s, a relatively small per-

centage of airports worldwide have opted for

this solution.

CongestionDuring turnaround an airport planning man-

ual typically shows 14 different vehicles circling

the aircraft for various tasks and in reality there

are even more support vehicles present.

The in-ground concept has not yet been in-

ternalised save for one of the support media

namely jet fuel. Today hardly anyone would con-

tend the fact that fuel hydrants are the way to

provide jet fuel to an aircraft at a busy airport.

The thought of dispatching a large tanker truck

bringing the fuel on the apron alongside the air-

craft is immediately recognised as not so effi-

cient and risky.

Now apparently it is not yet so natural to

see the same for ground power, pre-conditioned

air, potable water and wastewater. But the same

argument can easily apply here.

Lowering emissionsThe in-ground system can replace diesel

powered Ground Power Units (GPUs) or use of

the aircrafts own APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) for

production of power and cooling.

If an aircraft uses only the APU running on

jet fuel for the complete turnaround this results

in yearly emissions of 520 tons of CO2 for just

one gate. Using diesel powered GSE is better,

but still generates some 90 tons of CO2 yearly

for just one gate and for the supply of ground

power alone.

To reduce these emissions airports could re-

duce fuel burn by supplying direct electricity

connected to service pits. This still involves

some indirect impact on the environment but it

is substantially lower. According to the European

Parliament Technology Assessment, the carbon

footprint of using electricity is 300g per kWh.

Using direct electricity with an in-ground system

reduces the equivalent environmental impact to

32 tonnes per year and gate.

The same results can be shown for potable

water and wastewater which is most commonly

supplied with the use of trucks out on the apron,

often running idle on diesel while servicing the

aircraft. This implies tons of CO2 emissions while

also introducing more trucks into the gate area

on every turnaround.

We argue that the fixed installation of an in-

ground system using service pits is the natural

prolongation of the “green flight” starting with

minimising jet fuel consumption in the air, flight

planning and holding pattern minimising. Then

taxiing on one engine to the gate. At the gate the

turnaround is then provided by an in-ground sys-

tem minimising the carbon footprint while

parked for turnaround.

There is certainly a lot left to do in realising

the eco-friendly airport of tomorrow and for

those airports that have already begun this jour-

ney, our helmet is off to you.�

ASK THE EXPERT

Leif Lindh is the Director of

Business Development at

Combibox Systems Scandinavia.

He has a background in Systems

Development and IT and joined

Combibox in 2005. His main

focus has been to transform the

company into a knowledge based

system supplier applying airport

knowledge to ground support

solutions.

Ground controlLeif Lindh explains why the Vikings buried theirGround Support Equipment (GSE) a long time ago.

LEIF LINDH

COMBIBOX ate:24sept 17/7/09 15:44 Page 82

MOXA AD.indd 1MOXA AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:49:3525/6/09 11:49:35

For many years the Air Traffic Services Safety Regulations has

required ATC units to record audio (both ground-to-air,

ground-to-ground and telephony), and more recently record

radar in order to support incident and accident investigations.

New regulations requiring the recording of even more com-

munication sources are underway and ATC customers should

evaluate whether their existing or new recording equipment is compliant

and what extra costs the new regulations will impose for them.

Security and safety Air traffic security and passenger safety are paramount and only

achieved through a multitude of hi-tech systems working together. One

small but critical part of this big picture are record and replay systems.

Traditionally, these were voice-logging systems recorded on tape. In the

event of an accident, incident or threat, tapes would be replayed and

analysed, but their basic, manual nature meant their use was often limit-

ed and time consuming.

New technology and demands for speedy retrieval saw the intro-

duction of digital recording and a new era in voice logging. Technological

advancement in other areas of air traffic control, however, means that

today’s decisions are based on greater available information from more

individual sources than ever before. The sheer magnitude of air traffic

also means that these decisions have to be made more quickly and ac-

curately than previously. The smallest error can be fatal. Air traffic con-

trollers are dependent on a system that eases and assists their daily task

and decision-making process, giving them the big picture at any one

time, as well as simple, reliable tools to check and document it. The work

of investigating officers would also be greatly assisted if it were possi-

ble to see exactly what was presented to the controller, to hear what was

said and to reconstruct the actions taken at the time of the incident

under investigation.

Voice logging to the big pictureNew regulations concerning the recording of background communi-

cations and screens are underway. The International Civil Aviation

Organisation (ICAO) stipulates that ‘Air traffic control units be equipped

with devices that record background communication and the aural envi-

ronment at controller work stations from 1 January 2010’.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority’s Safety Regulation Group (CAA SRG)

has a consultation process where it is proposing that every airport or ATC

centre that uses surveillance data or supports the operation of an air traf-

fic service from that unit shall record screen shots of the surveillance data

presented at each operational ATC position. The recorded data shall be re-

tained for the ICAO minimum requirement of 30 days.


INDUSTRY INSIGHT

ImprovingATCsecurityandsafety

Jorn Rod-Larsen explains the importance of unified recording and airtraffic safety – from voice logging to the big picture.

RICOCHET:24sept 17/07/2009 16:08 Page 84

A recording solution that captures analogue audio,

digital audio, VoIP, composite CCTV, IP-Cameras, LAN

radars, asynchronous and synchronous serial radars,

and other serial data in a single system that can play

back all data synchronously will not only assist inves-

tigatory work and search and rescue operations, but

also be of huge benefit to air traffic controllers, super-

visors and management for training and quality im-

provement purposes.

The big picture gets betterAccident and incident investigators have expressed

that their work would be greatly assisted if it were pos-

sible to see exactly what was presented to the controller,

to hear what was said and to reconstruct the actions

taken at the time of incident under investigation.

There are two main technologies in capturing CWP

screens: Through The Wall (TTW) and At The Glass

(ATG). Capturing screens with TTW means tapping raw,

unprocessed and processed data feeds from the

sources, in real-time, directly from the copper carrying the data. Data is at

playback fed into the CWP for reconstruction during analysis of the sce-

nario. One of the challenges with this technology is to recreate the exact

picture of the Controller Working Position’s display at any time, due to the

mix between generic recorded data and vendor specific data. There also

exists a challenge in including messages generated by the underlying op-

erating system like error messages and warnings.

Capturing screens with ATG can be divided into three categories. One

where the display memory is continuously read and stored, the second

which records use X-11 commands and the third technology where one taps

into the DVI/RGB signal and captures the screen’s image as it is displayed

on the CWP screens. This method is completely non-intrusive and recreates

the exact picture. The technology will interface to any system and is not ven-

dor-specific. The user may also keep the same way of recording screens

even if the ATM system and CWP positions are upgraded or replaced. During

replay, the screen images are recreated in full synchrony with, for exam-

ple, position communication or other types of data. To make sure no data

is lost between screen captures the screen is typically captured four to eight

times per second.

Recording solution Ricochet’s multi-flexible ATC solution is specifically designed

for the ATC arena, with its particular needs in mind. Whilst setting

a new, higher standard and changing the way the industry ap-

proached data logging a few years ago, today it is a proven system

that has been serving satisfied customer all over the world since

the year 2000.

Ricochet is fully in line with all industry requirements, includ-

ing newly adopted amendments to the ICAO standards. It is now

possible to experience instant and dependable synchronous replay

of audio, radar, screens and video data with a simple touch of a but-

ton. This is what we call unified recording and replay. n


Superior performance made simpleRicochet offers superior performance in a simple configuration, with great emphasis being

placed on speed, reliability and simplicity of use. It not only accurately records voice

conversations, it also simultaneously records CCTV, radar and screen images, enables

efficient replay access and control and guarantees perfect synchronisation of data. Hence it

is not only possible to hear what is said both prior to and following an incident, but also to

visualise and analyse all relevant information surrounding it, at the drop of a hat.

User-friendlyRicochet ATC is also a vital tool in daily operations, not simply a data-logging device. Not

only can controllers see the big picture at all times, Ricochet’s unique user interface means

that they can speedily perform a number of tasks with simple steps. Whether quickly

checking a voice message that was unclear, attaching data needed for further

investigations to an email, or burning it on a USB thumb drive for a speedy and secure

analysis, controllers can always rely on complete accuracy and authenticity, through

Ricochet’s advanced security software.

Safe investmentA modular structure makes Ricochet ATC fully expandable. As controllers’ tasks increase or

operations grow, Ricochet can be easily expanded with them, making it the system of

choice for over 200 airports of all sizes across the world, including Glasgow International

Airport, Orly Airport, Singapore Changi Airport and Abu Dhabi ACC and EACC.

Tomorrow’s technology available todayRicochet is a young, dynamic company that is well positioned for the future. We see things

differently and translate our thoughts into innovative ideas. Our vision is to make air traffic

security simple and secure. We do this by working closely with our customers to develop

solutions in line with their real needs, and the way they work, both today and in the future.

FULFILLING THE REQUIREMENTS

Jorn Rod-Larsen joined Ricochet in 2007

and has acquired experience with most

fields within the company, especially

focusing on sales and marketing. Rod-

Larsen has been in management roles

with companies such as Hewlett-Packard,

Tieto and EDB Business Partner. He holds

a BSc in Business Administration from the

University of South Carolina and

Management Studies at IMD in Lausanne,

Switzerland.

“ The sheer magnitude of airtraffic also means that thesedecisions have to be mademore quickly and accuratelythan ever before”

RICOCHET:24sept 17/07/2009 16:09 Page 85

When EDF Energy and EDF Energy Nouvelles an-

nounced their partnership to form EDF Energy

Renewables in June 2008 this underlined a

growing consensus that the industry needs to

get serious about developing alternative power

sources. Furthermore, the new company’s es-

tablishment in the UK refl ects the country’s massive potential as a

generator of wind energy. As an island nation, the surrounding seas

offer access to one of the most abundant supplies of reliable wind

anywhere in the world. When we meet up with CEO Christian Egal

in EDF’s central London offi ce, the UK’s suitability is something he

is extremely keen to stress. “Renewable energy is growing every-

where in the world. But in this country the mix is different,” he says.

“Wind energy has had huge growth for fi ve years, but what is specifi c

in the UK is that Great Britain is an island, so we can take advantage of

this location with all the renewable energy linked to the sea. Offshore

wind is defi nitely the main renewables potential in the UK, as well as

wave and tidal energies, which are also very promising. But those are

still at the latest development phase.”

Plans for UK wind energy can only be described as ambitious. There

is currently about 8GW of installed or planned capacity in place. The

UK government’s strategic energy assessment recently reported that

British seas could eventually supply a further 25GW of power, enough

to serve the needs of all the country’s homes. But while there exist

Christian Egal, CEO of EDF Energy Renewables, tells Huw Thomas that the forecast for wind energy is extremely good.


CHRISTIAN EGAL ED P86-90.indd 86CHRISTIAN EGAL ED P86-90.indd 86 20/7/09 11:49:0020/7/09 11:49:00

tremendous possibilities, actually realising them will require a great

degree of effort. “It's a huge challenge,” Egal agrees. “Nobody has

ever built a wind farm 100 kilometres off the coast in the North Sea.

It will be diffi cult, but what is absolutely fantastic in this business is

that everybody is very confi dent in the capability of the supply chain

and the players to deliver.” Obviously, the costs associated with such

a huge project present diffi culties of their own. Installing turbines

that far off the coast, even in the comparatively shallow North Sea,

is a far more logistically trying operation than siting them onshore.

Farm sites are picked for their exposure to wind, which means they

must be built in often very diffi cult conditions. Building offshore

takes twice as long and costs twice as much as a similar project on

land. But according to Egal, the UK Crown Estate’s plans are helping

to mitigate this problem by targeting huge capacity. This encourages

all the major players to get involved and creates signifi cant econo-

mies of scale. “If you were to put one turbine in the North Sea, it

would never happen,” Egal says. “If you want to put 500 or 1000

wind turbines there, that is much more achievable.”

Building the wind farms is far from the only challenge. Getting

the power they generate to where it is needed also requires some

new thinking. “One of the other challenges is the grid,” Egal con-

tinues. “Connecting it needs a large scale approach rather than an

individual approach for a single wind farm. Maybe in the long-term

perspective, it will be a European approach because if we build a

wind farm for the UK In the North Sea, it could also be connected to

Sweden or Denmark. Maybe we’ll see in the next decades a power

grid all over Europe, based on offshore wind farms located all over

the seas.” This vision of an integrated European power infrastruc-

ture is one that crops up regularly in talks with those in the industry.

Given the speed and effi ciency that normally characterises major

pan-European projects, you would be forgiven for thinking such a

future remains a long way off. While Egal concedes that it remains a




It is only natural that renewable energy is initially going to cost

more than traditional sources of power. While coal and gas have a

massive installed base, wind and the like are effectively starting

from scratch. If we are serious about our commitment to getting

more of our energy from renewable sources, these short-term

costs are something that we will just have to bear. In any case, as

traditional sources such as oil and gas start to dwindle and become

harder to access, the market may make renewable energy consid-

erably more competitive.

Unfortunately the current economic climate is particularly un-

friendly. Sources of funding are tight and in many areas there seems

little appetite for any investment that isn’t going to quickly bring big

returns. Nonetheless, Egal is clear that EDF Energy Renewables re-

mains on track to hit its targets. “It does have some impact, but more

on the short-term period,” he says. “We have to deliver a gigawatt

by 2012, so we have to be very attentive to the capability to invest

in this wind farm in this diffi cult period. If we speak about the next

phase to deliver even by 2015 or 2020, it’s another story. That will

require a huge amount of money, but we can hope that it will be after

the crisis that we are facing now. I am not saying it will be easy; it will

huge undertaking, his confi dence that it is achievable is infectious. As

far as he is concerned, renewable energy, and specifi cally wind, is an

idea whose time has come. “It’s very exciting,” he says. “Wind energy

is the most dynamic industry all over the world, and even in this very

tricky period it is still growing.”

Counting the costWhile there is no argument that Europe desperately needs new

sources of power if it is to remain successful, critics of renewable

energy contend that it is simply not cost-effective without massive

government subsidies. So can renewables ever offer value for money?

“It’s a complex approach,” Egal admits. “Renewable energy all

across the world is still supported by public subsidy. The schemes

that the countries select are different. The Renewables Obligation

Certifi cation (ROC) mechanism is specifi c in the UK, but in every coun-

try there are mechanisms that make renewable investment possible.

Because of the current energy market there is no possibility of making

a renewable asset profi table. We are not far away, not at all. For ex-

ample, last year, when the market price was not particularly high it

was at the level, where it was much higher than the cost of renewable

energy. But in order for an operator to decide on an investment, they

need a certain level of visibility on the long-term. So all renewable

energies are, incentivised by public schemes, which make the invest-

ment possible. The principle of renewable energy is that it starts from

public and government willingness, worldwide European and country

willingness to do it, and each country provides to the operators the

appropriate scheme to make it happen. So is the mechanism pro-

posed to the operator in the UK enough to be profi table? Yes. If it was

no, there wouldn’t be any capacity, so it is profi table. Of course, there

are some projects that are more profi table than others, and it’s down

to a professional approach to make the difference.”

While this makes a certain amount of sense, it doesn’t answer the

question of whether renewable energy will ever be able to stand on its

own two feet. The current system allows the power companies to stay

in the black, but only on the back of government and consumer sup-

port. Will renewable energy ever be able to compete on a level playing

fi eld? “I would say, yes,” replies Egal. “The ROC mechanism provides

some additional revenues to renewable energy up to a certain level

of achievement. If the global target is reached, the ROC mechanism

will stop. Currently the target is to achieve nine percent of power from

renewables. The actual value is four percent. So the ROC mechanism

is there to incentivise the utilities to deliver some renewable energy

up to certain level of achievement. When that target is reached, the

public support will stop. It’s logical.”

“We are looking at wave and tidal technologies, which are not as mature as wind energy, even offshore”



cost billions and billions of euros to invest in these facilities. EDF as

a whole has some other projects as well, so it is challenging.”

Further alternativesThough EDF Energy Renewables’ principal focus is on wind

power, due to its comparative maturity and the UK’s geographical

suitability, it is also exploring other potential avenues. “We are look-

ing at wave and tidal technologies, which are not as mature as wind

energy, even offshore,” says Egal. “We rely on the R&D department

within EDF. We are looking at wave technologies as well. We are very

attentive and we are following feedback on this work. Our business

is to invest in modern technologies with good profi tability, so it

could happen in the next two or three years.” Solar also remains in

contention. Though the UK isn’t known for its cloudless skies, solar

energy’s success in the not particularly sunny Germany demon-

strates that, as technology improves and becomes less expensive, it

does have a part to play in Europe’s renewable future.

But from a UK perspective, it is wind that is going to provide

the big gains. Wind is one of the most well-established renewable

energy sources and has developed rapidly over the past few dec-

Turbine technology has come a long way in a

comparatively short time. Today’s biggest models

are more than fi ve times as big and 25 times more

powerful than their earliest ancestors.

A MIGHTY WIND

Rotor (metres)

Rating (KW)

16 40 71 100

100 550 1,650 2,500

Source: American Wind Association, CNET

1985 1996 2000 2009


certain diffi culties. But I would rather have a slow planning process

where you generally get permission rather than a quick one where

you do not.”

On the whole though, Egal seems optimistic about the potential

for wind and other renewable energy, both in the UK and across the

world. “When we look at the overall capacity we have 120,000MW

installed all over the world,” he says. “Last year, for example, we

installed more wind energy than gas or coal. Wind

energy has developed more in European countries

and the US than in developing countries, but if you

look at the possibility of wind farms in China, for

example, there is no limit.”

That is not to say we should expect to see

a major uptake of renewable energy in the de-

veloping world all that soon. Egal sees it as a

responsibility of those in more affl uent nations to

keep working on the problem until it can become

affordable for everybody. “I think the fair approach has been taken

by the European countries but renewables remain more expensive

than coal, gas and so on,” he says. “European countries and the US

are paying to make these technologies as profi table as the other

technologies in the near future. Can we really ask the developing

counties to pay for these technologies? I don't think so, and I think

we recognise that and that we have to pay this premium. Climate

change, which is the basis of these developments, has given us huge

responsibilities across Europe, so I think it is very fair approach for

us to pay for the fi rst stages of the development and allow others to

take advantage of these developments when it is more fi nancially

viable. In terms of the possibility to implement wind energy in these

countries, it could happen very quickly. It’s just about timing.”

ades. “Wind technologies are improving every year,” Egal confi rms.

“It is amazing because we now have some turbines that are 160

metres in diameter that generate 6MW. If you look at a wind turbine

only 20 years ago, they were only 15 or so metres in diameter and

generated only 50 KW. Who would’ve imagined 10 years ago that we

could build and install some 6MW wind turbine? As an example, EDF

Energy Nouvelles, part of EDF Energy Group, has stakes with other

partners in a windfarm of 30MW ca-

pacity with just six wind turbines.

It is based 30km offshore and each

wind turbine has a rotor diameter

of 126 meters.”

And the technology is still

developing. Egal tells us about

projects working towards turbines

able to produce 10MW and turbines

based on fl oating platforms that

can exploit the wind in deep-sea locations. With the huge capac-

ity of today’s turbines it is not technology that is holding the more

widespread adoption of wind power back. Rather it is outside factors

that limit its large-scale implementation. The aforementioned issues

with the grid are a major stumbling block, the lack of high power

transmission lines making it extremely diffi cult to get energy from

the remote areas where it is generated to the urban centres where

it is most needed. Additionally, the UK planning process can throw

plenty of obstacles in the path of speedy expansion. “To develop

wind energy is a very long track with a lot of hurdles, particularly in

this country,” Egal confi rms. “The planning system is very slow, but

I think it more or less always happens. And if we have an ambitious

target, within a certain amount of time, you have to take into account

“To develop wind energy is a very long track with a lot of hurdles”



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Danvest.indd 1 15/7/09 10:29:48


The current diffi culty in obtaining fi -

nancial resources for new projects

is pressing asset owners to in-

crease the profi tability of those

already in use. On a short-term

perspective simply reducing operational

costs like maintenance activities will achieve

this, and many owners are seeking to increase

productivity and effi ciency since nowadays a

proper improvement can mean signify differ-

ence between thriving and extinction.

This demand for productivity and ef-

fi ciency cascades from the owners down

to their suppliers, and among them are

independent O&M service providers, which

need to maintain (and increase, if possible)

the availability and production of the plant

with fewer human and material resources.

As a result, there is a change in the rules and

practices of the maintenance activity. O&M

service contracts used to establish prices

based upon the number of technicians em-

ployed in the plant; now prices are based

upon plant availability and energy output,

including rewards and penalties that derive

from reaching (or not reaching) certain objec-

tives. Calculations are used that take into ac-

count all relevant factors like grid availability,

weather conditions, and turbine availability.

Technicians used to be permanently allo-

cated to a specifi c plant but are now arranged

in groups so that some ‘general-purpose’

teams attend a range of nearby wind or solar

farms, whereas others, specialised in certain

kind of operations (component exchange for

example), cover a wider geographical circle.

This is made possible thanks to current

mobile communications technologies, which

allow for online monitoring for the position of

different teams.

From a task organisation standpoint, cor-

rective actions used to be the main driver of

the activity but now there is a shift towards

preventive and predictive maintenance.

Shorter periods are being set up for the as-

sessment of the running operations, with an

increasing use of real time data collection

tools and monitoring systems, and this in

turn allows for the re-scheduling of certain

activities whenever the analysis of the infor-

mation reveals that it is advisable.

The list of benefi ts is extensive: reduction

in failures, better accomplishment of preven-

tive maintenance schedule (thus avoiding an

accelerated ageing of the asset), more ration-

al planning and less unscheduled working

hours with a positive infl uence on personnel

motivation and a reduction of accidents.

All the measures described above are

the necessary outcome of a very demanding

fi nancial environment and can be possible

due to the fact that the renewable energy

sector has reached a high degree of maturity.

However, these new requirements should not

be seen just as unavoidable problems that

we need to overcome.

At Global Energy Services (GES) we face

the situation as a great opportunity to gain

competitiveness in the renewables sector.

Wind energy, as an example, has grown

around 25 percent annually during the last

three years. According to BTM Consult, last

year 28,190MW were installed leading to a

cumulative worldwide total of 122,000MW.

This means that the installed power has dou-

bled in three years. All those new installations

need to be maintained which presents a for-

midable opportunity for independent service

providers. For the asset owners, a sound

maintenance strategy that generates a small

percentual improvement in availability and

energy production will have signifi cant effects

in terms of plant profi tability and, from a larger

perspective, in reduced CO2 emissions.

Renewing strategyRenewables enjoyed an impressive boom in recent years, with high ROIs and plenty of credit available. But the outlook is not so bright these days and one victim of cost-cutting policies is the level of assets maintenance services. Ricardo Moro, of Global Energy Services suggests ways to avoid this.

Ricardo Moro is Chief Executive

Offi cer at Global Energy Services

(GES), an independent services

provider to the energy sector and

world leader in the wind market

with 4400 employees active in

Europe, North America and North

Africa. He is an industrial engineer

and has over 20 years’ experience

in the renewable energy sector,

both in manufacturing and in

service activities. He has held

different positions in Gamesa

including Deputy General Manager

in the manufacturing division and

has been CEO at GES since 2003.

“Wind energy has grown around 25 percent annually during the last three years”

GES ED P92.indd 92GES ED P92.indd 92 17/7/09 15:42:3717/7/09 15:42:37

Global Energy Services AD.indd 1Global Energy Services AD.indd 1 8/7/09 11:52:398/7/09 11:52:39


The European Union has set a binding target of 20 percent

of its energy supply to come from wind and other renew-

able sources by 2020. In order to achieve this 20 percent

energy target, more than one-third of the European elec-

trical demand would have to come from renewables, with

wind power expected to deliver 12-14 percent. So how

realistic is this target? Well, Christian Kjaer, Chief Executive of the Euro-

pean Wind Energy Association (EWEA) believes that this is completely

possible. “To reach the targets set out by the European union we would

have to increase total wind power capacity in Europe by 9.5 gigawatts

per year over the next 12 years. Given that we increased wind power

capacity by 8.5 gigawatts last year, it’s not an ambitious aspiration,” he

explains. It is quite clear that wind energy will provide the lion’s share

of the energy target that the European Union has set, but the target

also calls for hydro resources and biomass to be fully utilised. “I would

say it’s certainly achievable to reach 20 percent renewables although

whether we meet the projections for biomass remains to be seen. It’s all

down to how effectively the members are going to implement renewa-

bles – that’s the big question mark,” adds Kjaer.

While it is widely believed that the development of wind energy

across Europe is limited by existing power infrastructure, Kjaer be-

lieves that this is not a hugely limiting factor in regard to the physical

WIND POWERWill European Union wind power reach the tough renewable targets its been

set for 2020? Christian Kjaer, CEO of the European Wind Energy Association,

explains why and how it just could.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

EWEA.indd Sec2:94EWEA.indd Sec2:94 17/7/09 11:18:5217/7/09 11:18:52


future,” says Kjaer. “In short there are limitations, certainly offshore

with the lack of grid, but we need to stop and put in place measures

that concentrate on companies investing and building in the sector.

There are some institutional problems with this, such as a lack of

funding. But we simply haven’t invested enough in our infrastructure

for decades now and that needs to change if we want to make a dra-

matic change in the way we get our energy in the future.”

While offshore wind is more expensive than onshore wind energy,

due to the high costs of foundations and the grid that needs to be built

to access it, offshore will always provide a larger wind resource. Kjaer

hopes that as more economies of scale are introduced to the system

and wind turbines are mass-produced, offshore will be recognised

for the stronger resource that it is. “The offshore market in Europe is

more or less at the level that we were in 1992 and 1993 onshore, so we

haven’t even come close to reaping the benefi ts and getting the cost

reductions down in the same way as onshore in the last 20 years,”

grid. “We do have some restrictions if we look at certain regions of

Europe. There are regions in Spain where you get 40-50 percent of the

electricity coming from wind, so there are certainly limitations on how

much you can expand there unless you do something with the internal

infrastructure of the grid itself,” he explains.

ChallengesSo, challenges do remain in terms of how the grid is operated.

Kjaer believes that it is vital to start putting together plans that allow

investment in new infrastructure, as projects take an extended amount

of time to get on track. “We certainly need to change operations and

look at the way we operate our grid if we want to meet the 2020 renew-

able target. There is no question that the biggest challenge over the

next 10 years is grid infrastructure. The grid is already a limiting factor

because of course we don’t have electricity infrastructure offshore.

We need to start planning to prevent this becoming a challenge in the

WORKS



Power generationAs Europe looks to expand both onshore and offshore wind

generation capacity it becomes clear that wind alone cannot be

responsible for all of our power generation because of its variable

nature. So how large a proportion of European energy can be realis-

tically generated by wind? Kjaer believes it depends on how big an

integrated power system it is possible to construct, so the amount

of wind energy put into the system at a European level depends on

how integrated the European grid system turns out to be. Of course

the bigger the geographical area, the more fi rm power is generated

from wind energy so there is a huge benefi t in the geographical

dispersion of wind energy. However, in order to get that geographi-

cal dispersion it means that the grid has to have the same sort of

dimensions, which is why interconnections are so valuable. A more

interconnected grid means that variability becomes irrelevant. “This

is why we believe that the infrastructure is so important, and it’s

not only about integrating wind energy but also about improving

competition in the electricity market.”

Kjaer goes on to say that no-one is suggesting wind energy

should provide 100 percent of all European Union power, but rather

if it was well integrated and utilised

it could have a large segment of the

electricity market. “If we used the enor-

mous hydro resources that we have in

Norway or Sweden for example, which

complements wind energy extremely

well, I have no doubt that we can have

a system based on 100 percent renew-

able electricity, be it biomass, wind,

large hydro, small hydro or geothermal.

But it requires a complete change in our

way of thinking about operating sys-

tems and requires that we start utilising

that.”

Indeed, Kjaer believes that there

are no technical barriers to wind energy

producing 25-40 percent of Europe’s elec-

tricity. He highlights Denmark as having

plans to use wind power alone to gener-

ate 50 percent of its electricity by 2020.

If that is possible in a small geographical

area like Denmark, why shouldn’t it be

possible Europe wide. “In reality there

are no technical barriers to having half

of Europe’s electricity supplied by wind

energy, but that will be beyond 2020,

when we expect to be on target and see

between 14 and 19 percent of our energy

coming from here. By 2030 I see wind

energy will provide at least a quarter of

our electricity. There’s still quite a long

way to go in terms of increasing wind en-

ergies,” explains Kjaer.

he says. “In order to do that we need economies of scale and that’s

why it’s so important that you have some companies that are focusing

very heavily on this, including in the UK, Germany and Norway, as well

as France. But again offshore infrastructure is a much more imminent

issue to solve compared to onshore because there aren’t any grids.”

Kjaer goes on to explain that the benefi t of improving offshore

grids is that it is possible to build interconnections between countries

which in turn mean it would be possible to improve the electricity and

tracing of electricity over the borders of Europe, giving consumers the

cheapest power possible. By planning infrastructure investment it will

benefi t in terms of maximising the exchange between various member

states as well as putting the infrastructure where there are offshore

wind resources or weight power resources and improve the function-

ing of the internal electricity market while meeting targets for renewa-

bles. “What we do in terms of offshore infrastructure is extremely

important, and here we are in need of faster action than onshore in

terms of new infrastructure. We need to fi gure out structures that

allow us to make smart plans in how we build electricity infrastruc-

ture offshore at a bilateral or regional country level. It’s very much

a similar challenge that we’re standing in front of as when we were

building the oil and gas infrastructure.

We would like for that planning to be a

bit more international in nature, and a

bit more coordinated among individual

European countries than we saw with

oil and gas because it makes sense in

terms of electricity markets.”

There is no doubt that grid in-

frastructure is going to be the most

important issue to work on in the next

decade, along with the development of

the power market and a much higher

degree of interconnection between

the European member states. While

it will be possible to learn something

from the onshore infrastructure for

increasing offshore wind farms partic-

ularly around grid development, Kjaer

believes that from an infrastructure

perspective we in Europe have never

much cared about what happens on the

other side of the border, which means

it may well be harder to do so this time

around. “We musn’t repeat what we’ve

done onshore because there needs to

be cooperation in terms of infrastruc-

ture planning,” advises Kjaer. “Let’s

not repeat the nationalistic approach

that we have taken on for the last 100

years when we planned grids. Instead

it’s even more important that we co-

operate as the benefi ts of offshore are

that much higher.”

Some of the many benefi ts associated with

wind power include:

• Economic growth and job creation: In

2008, the value of wind turbines installed in

Europe was €11 billion. In 2020, the annual

market for wind energy in the EU is expected

to reach €17 billion. About 160,000 people

in the EU were in wind energy-related

employment in 2008. The wind industry could

create up to 368,000 new jobs in the EU from

2000 to 2020.

• Cleaning up the environment: Europe’s

65 gigawatts (GW) of wind power installed by

the end of 2008 will annually avoid 108 million

tones of CO2 – the equivalent of taking over 50

million cars off the road, This also translates

into an annual CO2 cost of about €2.4 billion.

• Energy independence: Europe now imports

more than half its energy, a fi gure that is

expected to climb to 70 percent in the next

20 to 30 years. The European wind industry’s

installed capacity of 65 GW is enough to

provide power for the equivalent of 35 million

average EU households. Wind energy allowed

EU nations to avoid paying fuel costs of €5.4

billion last year.

WHY WIND?



Kjaer explains that the key element over the next 12 years will

be seeing where that capacity will come from – where wind will be in

relation to its main competitors in terms of new electricity generating

capacity. “If we look at investments over the last 10 years, Europe has

really been investing in wind power and gas, and I think it will be inter-

esting to see how wind energy compares in terms of cost with building

a new gas fi red power plant,” he says. Kjaer sees three factors that

are very much in wind energy’s favour. Firstly is that it is quicker to

build a wind farm than a new coal or gas fi red power plant. Second is

the fact that from 2013 coal and gas power plants will have to pay for

every ton of CO2 that is emitted. And third is that with a coal or gas

fi red plant it is vital to take into account future fuel prices in order to

understand the cost of operations. “One of the main benefi ts of wind

power is that the cost of carbon and fuel prices will be zero over the

next 20 years of operation, whereas you

can’t guarantee that for coal and gas fi red

plants, you just don’t know what fuel and

carbon prices will be.

“The competition over the next 12 years

will be who gets to build those 350,000

megawatts that we need in the European

Union. It will be between coal, gas and

wind energy and with the current outlook

for fuel prices, wind energy looks like an

increasingly attractive investment.”

ProgressIn terms of moving forward, Kjaer explains that the key projects

currently underway in the European wind energy space are extremely

interesting and that the sector is learning a great deal from these devel-

opments. He also points to Eastern Europe as an interesting area, with

Romania, Bulgaria and Poland in particular getting serious about renew-

able energy. “The speed at which the conditions have been put in place

to attract investors is great,” says Kjaer. “It’s interesting to see how these

countries have approached the whole debate about the renewables di-

rective, putting in place measures in terms of grid access and payment

frameworks.”

So how does Kjaer envisage the wind energy space progressing in the

future as Europe reaches its 2020 deadline? “It’s a truly interesting time,”

replies Kjaer, “because we have come from a past in which we actually

didn’t need more new electricity generating

capacity. We actually had excess capacity

until a few years ago, which is no longer the

case because we are shutting down old

power plants and have to build new ones.

What the European Commission is saying

is that between now and 2020 we have to

build approximately 350,000 megawatts of

new electricity generating capacity, which is

equal to 50 percent of all capacity that’s cur-

rently running in the European Union.”

ANN

UAL

CUM

ULAT

IVE

2000

2000 20000

4000 40000

6000 60000

8000 80000

10000 100000

12000 120000

2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2020 2030

Annual installation

Cumulative installation

Annual installation (Ref.scenario)

Cumulative installation (Ref.scenario)

OFFSHORE WIND MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN THE EU UP

TO 2008 AND EWEA’S SCENARIOS UP TO 2030

United Kingdom

Belgium

Denmark

Finland

Germany

Ireland

Netherlands

Sweden

United Kingdom 39% 590.80 MW

Belgium 2% 30.00 MW

Denmark 28% 409.15 MW

Finland 2% 24.00 MW

Germany 1% 12.00 MW

Ireland 1% 25.20 MW

Netherlands 17% 246.80 MW

Sweden 9% 133.30 MW

OPERATIONAL OFFSHORE WIND FARMS

“We simply haven’t invested

enough in our infrastructure for

decades now and that needs to

change if we want to make a

dramatic change in the way we

get our energy in the future”

Source: EWEA Source: EWEA



Our world is going through a

fundamental transformation

with incredible business and

political challenges. Emerging

economies are becoming major

players in the international scene, while the

unprecedented recession is challenging the

concept of globalisation. However, these

challenges are forcing us to rethink and re-

defi ne the way we live.

One of the most signifi cant examples is

the incredible boom of the renewable energy

segment – more specifi cally wind energy.

Wherever we travel these days, we see wind

turbines or trucks zooming to deliver ele-

ments of towers throughout the world. And

the key words of the wind power industry are

safety, reliability and performance.

While cashing in on the environment

debate and action by governments across the

world, this industry is creating job opportuni-

ties with a conscious effort on safety during

building of, as well as the maintenance of,

the turbines.

All actors of the wind industry that I

meet are dedicated to safety. Access to sites

is highly regulated and PPE is mandatory.

Safety training is a genuine part of the cul-

ture. During my visit to the sites, I am always

impressed by the professionalism of the

safety offi cers. We at Power Climber are ex-

tremely proud to be a key contributor in this

fi eld, offering access solutions to the wind

industry and ensuring safety at height during

installation and maintenance of the turbines.

Safety is our business and our passion. We

provide service lift solution SHERPA, climb

assist system with our recently launched

IBEX, as well as standard and engineered

solutions for blade and tower access.

The wind industry is winning the race to

be one of the most reliable sources of energy.

The technology breakthroughs in improving

all components of the turbines to make them

even more reliable are impressive.

The introduction of Six Sigma and the

investments in R&D centres by major OEMs

is a proof of this commitment. The increase

and improvement in the service capabilities

of those in the industry is clearly an indica-

tion of willingness to manage this challenge.

Power Climber brings its contribution to this

effort, by designing and providing reliable

solutions dedicated to the maintenance and

repair of the wind turbines that enable the

service teams to perform their tasks with

increased productivity.

The ‘MegaWatt Race’ and the adjust-

ment of towers to the confi guration of the

wind park represent amazing technological

developments. But what is Power Climber’s

contribution? The tallest of the towers require

access to the nacelle safely and rapidly, and

here once more this is our core business.

Since 1972, Power Climber has been

providing access solutions to a variety of

industries. The most signifi cant of them are

construction, industrial and wind energy.

The ‘MegaWatt Race’ of the wind industry

presents a great opportunity for us to exploit

our engineering and technology expertise as

an engineered access solutions specialist.

In addition, our range includes access

solutions for suspended bridges, manu-

facturing, mining, oil & gas, aerospace and

military. Our philosophy is leadership in in-

novation, safety, reliability and dedication

to serve our customers. We can assure that

we will not only keep up this commitment but

continue to be innovative in our approach to

access solutions.

TAKING CARE

Eric Thormann is Vice President and

Managing Director of Power Climber

International, a subsidiary of SafeWorks.

He started his career at Volvo Cars as

Services Director for France. In 1997

he joined Carrier UTC as Marketing

and Services Director in Paris for

the Europe and Middle East region,

before restructuring Carrier Sutrak as

Managing Director. In 2003 he joined

American Standard Trane division

as Vice President of Services for the

Europe Middle East and India region.

Addressing the safety challenges of the renewable energy.

ERIC THORMANN

“And the key words of the wind power industry are safety, reliability and performance”

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Women have made some fan-

tastic in-roads into industries

that have historically been

dominated by men, but de-

spite this, the gritty world of

construction has remained a man’s world. In

fact, with under 10 percent of the UK industry

made up of females, construction is still consid-

ered a daunting environment for women to

enter. But with the appointment of its new pres-

ident, the Chartered Institute of Building is

breaking new ground – in more ways than one.

A pioneer in construction management in

her home country of China, Li Shirong’s work

spans academia, industry and government and

reflects her strong belief in the need for sus-

tainable urbanisation. As a member of the CIOB

since its early connections with China (and as

such regarded as a major factor in its growth

there), Shirong is keen to use her term to en-

sure that international communications remain

high on the agenda. “As the world becomes

smaller, it’s easier to share experience about

how to make the best use of our resources. But

the world is still challenging – we need com-

munication and collaboration internationally,

particularly during the current economic cri-

sis,” she says.

Her appointment is certainly an important

milestone for the 175-year-old organisation; as

well as being the first female president, this is

the first time that the CIOB has selected some-

one from outside of the UK to take on the top

role. And while Shirong is no stranger to the is-

sues presented by the CIOB’s core market –

having studied in Europe and through her work

with the institute, she is well aware of the prob-

lems faced by the UK’s construction industry –

she is keen to use her presidency to foster a

more international approach.

“Communication is so important in terms

of sharing experiences and creating new op-

portunities, so this is something I really want

to concentrate on,” she says. “I think it is ex-

citing but also challenging work for both the

CIOB and myself. We have members around the

world, and I think to have a president from out-

side of the UK will help bring a different view-

point and help encourage a dialogue of

communication between our various members

in the international environment.”

One such area of focus is particularly close to

her heart – that of the development and growing

influence of China. “China’s economic develop-


INSIDE STORY

Breakingnewground

New demand for greater collaboration and exchange of information isleading to some significant construction industry shifts – none more sothan at the Chartered Institute of Building.

Li Shirong

SHIRONG LI:24sept 17/07/2009 16:04 Page 100

ment has produced a building boom on a scale

not seen in modern history, and it is important

that China learns from the experience of the

West,” she explains. “However, because China

can build in technology at an earlier stage of its

infrastructure, it is also able to incorporate previ-

ously untried environmental innovations and

ideas. Therefore the West can learn much from

China. This situation underlines the acute need

for a two-way exchange of ideas and experience.”

It also highlights the wisdom of the CIOB’s

latest appointment. Shirong’s strong connec-

tions with her home city of Chongqing – now re-

garded as the world’s largest city – certainly

provide her with experience that will be valuable

to all CIOB members. The city is making huge in-

vestments in urban construction, has a fast-

growing population and a large construction

workforce, and Shirong has played a central role

in its development in recent years. As such, she

is perfectly placed to advise on the various chal-

lenges presented by rapid urbanisation – with

sustainability chief amongst them.

“Sustainability needs to be a major focus

of our discussions as an industry,” she sug-

gests. “I always tell people the city is a muse-

um of buildings – that we don’t just build

buildings, we create communities, influence

society, stimulate economic activity – and I

think our members should be very proud of

that; however, with that comes a certain re-

sponsibility, and the need to focus on sustain-

able development. Construction is an

incredibly important sector – particularly for

those countries that are going through rapid

urbanisation.”

The related concepts of conservation and

maintenance will also be key areas of focus for

Shirong in the coming months. “Conservation is

a comprehensive process and requires a lot of

knowledge,” she says. “You need to do a lot of

investigation before making a decision on

whether to conserve or demolish. Do you con-

serve the whole area or one single building or

even just a part of the building? Is a historically

significant but dilapidated building worthy of re-

pair and restoration, and if so, should you use

traditional methods of building that are true to

the spirit of the building or more efficient and

cost-effective modern methods? These are big

decisions.”

Which leads us back to Shirong’s core com-

petency: construction management. Looking at

urbanisation in such a holistic way really re-

quires an integrated approach between many

different stakeholders – between architects, de-

velopers and planners, local governments, en-

vironmental groups and suppliers. There are a

lot of different constituencies that all need to

come together to really work on making sus-

tainability a realistic goal. So what can be done

to improve the way that these different groups

and types of stakeholder work together?

“It’s simple,” she says. “Management is

about dealing with people. It’s about leadership.

This is why I always say that the CIOB is a good

forum for talking about construction manage-

ment; we should be working together in a part-

nership. The CIOB is really trying to show the

value of conservation, linking it to sustainabili-

ty through a series of seminars and events;

we’re trying to start a dialogue about the value

of conserving your heritage. We’re very much

embracing the knowledge within our member-

ship, and using those members to spread the

word and show the actual value.”

Part of that value is, of course, in the grow-

ing role tourism plays in emerging economies.

Again, Shirong uses the UK as an example. “For

many overseas visitors, tourism in the UK is ac-

tually about coming to the country and experi-

encing the culture and the heritage, and if you

sacrifice that then you actually sacrifice quite a

bit of your economy. There are lots of countries

out there that have a strong cultural identity, and

keeping that is important for those economies.”

Shirong has certainly come a long way since

her first job labouring in the mud of a wheat farm

at the tail end of the Cultural Revolution 30 years

ago, but symbolically, she is still breaking new

ground. Modestly, she puts the achievement

within a much wider context. “I am just a normal

person from China,” she says. “For the institute

to trust me and elect me is a big thing, for both

myself and my country. I will never forget my

daughter’s reaction to the news. She said that

this was the most important thing in my life, as

it shows that as a professional I got to the top.

But this post really isn’t about me. It’s about

changes in China, and changes in the attitude of

the industry. This couldn’t have happened 30

years ago, under the planned economy. Through

the open door policy and reform, we changed –

to be able to compete in an international society.

It’s an historic achievement.” n


Li Shirong began her working life on a wheat farm, mixing fertile earth from the

surrounding mountains into the sandy soil towards the end of the Cultural Revolution.

When Chinese policy changed and young people were allowed to take examinations to

enter universities for the first time in over a decade, Shirong first studied civil engineering (her

father’s profession) before going on to become one of the first in China to study Construction

Management, a field in which she later became a professor.

In 2003, the government of Chongqing (a region of 32 million people) asked her to help in

its modernisation process. She became Vice-Mayor of the Shapbingba District, leading a team

to create an entirely new ‘university town’, relocating farmers and building around 10

universities for 80,000 students.

Shirong was only the third Chinese national ever to join the CIOB and has encouraged

membership in China ever since. She has also been instrumental in joint schemes between the

CIOB and the Chinese construction industry – currently involving training and is an ambassador

to the Chinese Ministry of Construction.

A LIFE IN CONSTRUCTION

“Conservation is a comprehensiveprocess and requires a lot of knowledge.

You need to do a lot of investigationbefore making a decision on whether to

conserve or demolish”

SHIRONG LI:24sept 17/07/2009 16:04 Page 101


As an academic, Ron McCaffer’s role as Chairman of the ECI is bucking the trend in more ways than one. Here EU Infrastructure fi nds out about his role, the work the Institute is currently involved in and how the construction sector is coping in the recession.

As Europe’s only transnational learning network covering

the entire cycle of engineering and construction, the Eu-

ropean Construction Institute (ECI) has some stories to

tell. Launched in 1990 to coincide with the privatisation

of the Central Electric Generating Board (CEGB), it was

set up to develop and maintain a sustainable, performance-based

culture across the industry. The man behind the ECI is Ron McCaffer,

who today is the Chairman of the group. “That is almost unconstitu-

tional,” he jokes when I speak to him from his offi ce in Loughborough,

England. “I wrote the constitution myself and it says that the Chair-

man must be someone from within the industry. This was to be an

industry-led institution, not an academic one; so this is a great honour

that they [the members] have bestowed upon me.”

McCaffer is a Professor of Construction Management – a title he

has held since 1986. As a lecturer at Loughborough University, his

career has also positioned him in the roles of Head of Civil Engineer-

ing, Dean of Engineering and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the university,

though this is a role he has since stepped back from.

“When the CEGB was still a nationalised company, our organiza-

Time to build

CONSTRUCTION

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“The most exciting thing that happened at that time was

that we received a letter of support from the then-UK Prime Min-

ister, who was very encouraging about the fact that these European

construction clients, contractors and consultants were going to be

acting together in this way for the common good,” notes McCaffer.

“Of course, the interesting thing is that the then-Prime Minister was

Mrs. Thatcher, who was not exactly known for her European views,”

he adds with a grin. “I still have the letter.”

Structure and operationThe ECI works in a unique fashion, explains McCaffer. Every

subscribing member becomes a part of what the ECI calls the Mem-

bership Council, who then meet twice a year to give the organisation

its directive as to what it should be doing. From there, the Board of

Advisors elects an Executive Group and, as Chairman, McCaffer heads

up that group. “Traditionally the role of Chairman has been fi lled by an

industrialist and when I step down, which will be in the not too distant

future, I’ll be replaced by an industrialist, and that’s how it should

be,” he explains.

tion not only built power stations

and generated, distributed and

sold electricity, but also did a lot

of good work in between,” McCaf-

fer explains. “But when the CEGB

broke up into fi ve privatised compa-

nies, that good work simply disappeared between the cracks.” Be-

cause of this, the industry felt that it needed something to replace the

body that had previously been operating in the non-profi t arena. The

pressure for this largely came from the big clients, McCaffer explains.

Subsequently, the establishment of what is now known as the ECI –

which mostly concentrates on working with engineering construction,

such as oil and gas, power, major infrastructure and pharmaceuticals

(rather than buildings) – was greatly encouraged to establish itself

by these clients, particularly the oil and power companies. Coinci-

dentally, Europe seemed to be opening up, stimulating an excitement

about the prospect of trading across borders. As a result, instead of

creating the once-proposed UK Construction Institute, the European

version was established.

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the past these task forces have gone through works on the evolution

of the partnering craze, and we also did a lot of work on partnering be-

cause though energy under European procurement competition has

to follow EU rules, these rules and partnering did not at fi rst appear to

sit neatly together.”

McCaffer points out that a lot of that work was done in order to

tease these issues out, which in turn led to the quality revolution in the

1990s. “At the start of that decade, for example, contractors would say,

‘We’re in business in order to make a profi t,’ which has the underlying

point of meaning, ‘We’ll do what we have to do to make a profi t’. By the

end of the 1990s, these same contractors would say, ‘We’re in business

to deliver a right fi rst time, high quality service that works for our cli-

ents.’ That was the transition that took place as various forms of quality

management worked their way into the industry.”

Of course, the challenges facing the industry are ongoing, and

today they are dominated by the recession. “If you look at our con-

ference program for this October, for example, the big issue we are

covering is the global market and the recession, and we are busy col-

lecting data on that at the moment,” explains McCaffer.

What’s more, there has long been a feeling in the ECI that the con-

struction industry needs to remain sustainable. In these terms, that

word doesn’t mean ‘green’ like it so often does today, but it rather the

need to be competitive. But how do you get your industry to become

competitive? McCaffer explains that this need forced the ECI to look at

a framework of training courses called Master Classes, based on re-

search from within the members’ work, that could be used to educate

others. He pinpoints one Master Class that is particularly relevant to

today’s challenges. “Managing your people on site is a real issue,” he

says. “Look at the huge manpower problem on the Lindsey Oil Refi n-

ery that we saw in early June [see boxout]. Somehow the industry has

to resolve these sorts of problems or it isn’t competitive. And if it isn’t

competitive someone else is going to fi ll the void.”

Training programs through the ECI are given the grand title of

Master Classes because, in effect, they are in place to fi nd a master of

a certain topic, as McCaffer explains: “In October this year, we have

a conference that will offer Master Classes covering topics such as

Dispute and Avoidance Management, Fast Track Projects, Health and

Safety, Managing the Multinational Workforce, Managing People and

Projects, Multicultural Project Teamworking, New Mobile Informa-

tion Technology in Construction, Project Cost Management and Risk

Analysis and Management.”

Ultimately, these Master Classes provide an opportunity for ex-

perienced project and construction managers and engineers to ben-

From there, the ECI operates a series of limited-life task forces,

which combine the experience and expertise of industry members

with the research methodology and knowledge of ECI’s academic

partners. ECI task forces are put together as groups of people who are

able to address a specifi c issue at a specifi c time within the industry.

McCaffer explains that these task forces, typically made up of a group

of industrialists and one academic representative, will commission

further industry research and then publish the results as a report,

handbook or web-based tool for use by the rest of the industry. “In

On 28 January 2009,

approximately 800 local

contractors of Total’s Lindsey

Oil Refi nery went on strike following

appointment by the Italian construction contractor

IREM of several hundred European (mainly Italian and

Portuguese) contractors on the site, despite the current

high unemployment in the local and global economy.

Despite a seeming resolution, the strikes resumed

on 19 June 2009 when nearly 700 construction staff

were sacked at the refi nery. The sackings came after

1200 workers walked out unoffi cially at the plant in a jobs

dispute, causing a ripple of workers at other plants across

the UK to walked out in sympathy.

Workers at the Lindsey refi nery were invited to re-apply

for their jobs, with managers at Total giving them a deadline

of 5pm on Monday 22 June 2009 to do so. However,

angered by the actions of the management, workers burned

their dismissal letters at a protest outside the refi nery.

Negotiations between Total and representatives of

the GMB union were adjourned on Tuesday 23 June with

some progress having been made, but sources said a

number of ‘signifi cant barriers’ remained. Talks resumed

on 25 June, and an agreement was reached late that

evening to end the industrial action. On 29 June workers

at the refi nery voted to accept the deal.

LINDSEY OIL REFINERY

“there has long been a feeling in the ECI that the construction industry

needs to remain sustainable. In these terms, that word doesn’t mean ‘green’ like it so often does today, but it rather

the need to be competitive”

102-103-104-105_INFRAEU8_JULY09.indd Sec1:104102-103-104-105_INFRAEU8_JULY09.indd Sec1:104 17/7/09 15:53:4117/7/09 15:53:41


the past these task forces have gone through works on the evolution

of the partnering craze, and we also did a lot of work on partnering be-

cause though energy under European procurement competition has

to follow EU rules, these rules and partnering did not at fi rst appear to

sit neatly together.”

McCaffer points out that a lot of that work was done in order to

tease these issues out, which in turn led to the quality revolution in the

1990s. “At the start of that decade, for example, contractors would say,

‘We’re in business in order to make a profi t,’ which has the underlying

point of meaning, ‘We’ll do what we have to do to make a profi t’. By the

end of the 1990s, these same contractors would say, ‘We’re in business

to deliver a right fi rst time, high quality service that works for our cli-

ents.’ That was the transition that took place as various forms of quality

management worked their way into the industry.”

Of course, the challenges facing the industry are ongoing, and

today they are dominated by the recession. “If you look at our con-

ference program for this October, for example, the big issue we are

covering is the global market and the recession, and we are busy col-

lecting data on that at the moment,” explains McCaffer.

What’s more, there has long been a feeling in the ECI that the con-

struction industry needs to remain sustainable. In these terms, that

word doesn’t mean ‘green’ like it so often does today, but it rather the

need to be competitive. But how do you get your industry to become

competitive? McCaffer explains that this need forced the ECI to look at

a framework of training courses called Master Classes, based on re-

search from within the members’ work, that could be used to educate

others. He pinpoints one Master Class that is particularly relevant to

today’s challenges. “Managing your people on site is a real issue,” he

says. “Look at the huge manpower problem on the Lindsey Oil Refi n-

ery that we saw in early June [see boxout]. Somehow the industry has

to resolve these sorts of problems or it isn’t competitive. And if it isn’t

competitive someone else is going to fi ll the void.”

Training programs through the ECI are given the grand title of

Master Classes because, in effect, they are in place to fi nd a master of

a certain topic, as McCaffer explains: “In October this year, we have

a conference that will offer Master Classes covering topics such as

Dispute and Avoidance Management, Fast Track Projects, Health and

Safety, Managing the Multinational Workforce, Managing People and

Projects, Multicultural Project Teamworking, New Mobile Informa-

tion Technology in Construction, Project Cost Management and Risk

Analysis and Management.”

Ultimately, these Master Classes provide an opportunity for ex-

perienced project and construction managers and engineers to ben-

From there, the ECI operates a series of limited-life task forces,

which combine the experience and expertise of industry members

with the research methodology and knowledge of ECI’s academic

partners. ECI task forces are put together as groups of people who are

able to address a specifi c issue at a specifi c time within the industry.

McCaffer explains that these task forces, typically made up of a group

of industrialists and one academic representative, will commission

further industry research and then publish the results as a report,

handbook or web-based tool for use by the rest of the industry. “In

On 28 January 2009,

approximately 800 local

contractors of Total’s Lindsey

Oil Refi nery went on strike following

appointment by the Italian construction contractor

IREM of several hundred European (mainly Italian and

Portuguese) contractors on the site, despite the current

high unemployment in the local and global economy.

Despite a seeming resolution, the strikes resumed

on 19 June 2009 when nearly 700 construction staff

were sacked at the refi nery. The sackings came after

1200 workers walked out unoffi cially at the plant in a jobs

dispute, causing a ripple of workers at other plants across

the UK to walked out in sympathy.

Workers at the Lindsey refi nery were invited to re-apply

for their jobs, with managers at Total giving them a deadline

of 5pm on Monday 22 June 2009 to do so. However,

angered by the actions of the management, workers burned

their dismissal letters at a protest outside the refi nery.

Negotiations between Total and representatives of

the GMB union were adjourned on Tuesday 23 June with

some progress having been made, but sources said a

number of ‘signifi cant barriers’ remained. Talks resumed

on 25 June, and an agreement was reached late that

evening to end the industrial action. On 29 June workers

at the refi nery voted to accept the deal.

LINDSEY OIL REFINERY

“There has long been a feeling in the ECI that the construction industry

needs to remain sustainable. In these terms, that word doesn’t mean ‘green’ like it so often does today, but it rather

the need to be competitive”



efi t from ECI knowledge and research, and to exchange and develop

their expertise and ideas with their peers. The Master Classes are

designed to be interactive in style, facilitated by a tutor, and include

lectures and presentations, interactive discussions and case study

examples. And as the ECI has grown, so have the topics that Master

Classes cover; what’s more, they are determined

by the changing needs of the industry and

public sector bodies.

McCaffer draws attention to his involve-

ment with one of the UK’s biggest current

infrastructure projects: the 2012 Olympics. “I

did some work earlier in the start up of that in

looking at the logistics. For example, organis-

ers have just built a new lock on the canal that

allows them to feed material in and out of the

Olympic site that way, to minimise the impact

on the environment and the residents around the

site. In practice, the use of rail to transport materi-

als has been very high.

“The other thing that interested us early

on with the Olympics was the management

structure, because the last big project before the

Olympics was T5. Of course, the difference there was that T5 was

done through a single private sector client, the British Airports

Authority (BAA).”

At that time, as McCaffer highlights, BAA set up a very imagina-

tive structure that took all the risk off the contractors. “Essentially the

structure at T5 said, ‘You’re contracted to deliver the services that we

require and we’ll pay you for those, but there’s no downside to you.’

Of course, there were a few that didn’t live up to it, but the BAA had a

very novel approach to that structure.

“Today a lot of the people that worked on T5 have

moved on to the Olympics. If you look at the Olym-

pic structure, it has got committees and there

has been a huge worry that the client side of

the Olympics might not be as effi cient as it

needs to be to deliver the project. But so far,

so good; so maybe the early concerns will

prove to be unfounded.”

Lastly, in addition to the huge amount of

work going on with the Olympics, McCaffer also

explains how the ECI gives away, each year, a

Project of the Year prize. “These are given, not

necessarily because they’re grand projects,

but because they’re well-managed projects,”

he says.

“The companies can nominate the

projects themselves and our judging panel then sets out

and picks the projects. Last year the winner was the high-speed rail

link into St. Pancras in London. Now the call is out for nominations

for this year, which will be judged in September and awarded at the

October conference, so it really is an exciting time for the industry.”

FEEL THE FORCE

Achieving Competitiveness Through Innovation and Value Enhancement (ACTIVE)

The ECI ACTIVE task force will launch

an updated version of ACTIVE, its eight

ACTIVE principles and supporting Value

Enhancing Practices at the October

conference. Application of the ACTIVE

principles is proven to result in better

projects for clients as well as increased

business and profi tability for suppliers

and contractors. Those projects on which

ACTIVE has been applied do not suffer

from the type of industrial unrest seen at

the Lindsey Oil Refi nery. As a result, the

government is taking a keen interest in

this work.

Industry FuturesThe Industry Futures Task Force

has been established to identify major

issues and drivers that will be affecting

the European construction industry over

the next 10 – 20 years. Its mission is to

identify the three to fi ve key issues that

will have the biggest impact on future

members, understand what the Euro-

pean construction industry might look

like in 20 years time and communicate

relevant programmes of work to sup-

port members in successfully evolving

towards that end.

Project Cost ManagementECI is carrying out research to identify

how member companies and others can

improve project cost outcome predict-

ability. This subject has a high profi le in

many client and contractor organisations,

given the increasing challenges imposed

upon project teams. A clear issue is that

effective project cost management re-

quires active understanding, involvement

and support from the whole of the project

development and implementation teams

plus other key parties.

Safety Health/Environment (SHE)The SHE task force was fi rst set up in 1990

and is the only long standing ECI Task

Force. Its proposed mission is to provide

guidance to ECI members on construction

safety, health and environmental issues,

particularly from a pan-European

perspective.

Whole Life Value (WLV)The ECI WLV task force has been de-

veloping methodology and tools to help

decision-makers better evaluate project and

major purchase options in a way that takes

account for all the value drivers through

the asset life cycle. A WLV tool has now

been developed and is being trialled in the

UK government’s Building Schools for the

Future projects.

A closer look at some of the task forces currently in operation at the ECI



building the plant, such as erecting the sup-

port structure for the boiler unit.

As far as general construction is con-

cerned, our big crawler cranes are used in a

wide array of applications, such as lifting-in

prefabricated highway parts or bridges. One

recent example is a Terex Demag CC 6800

which was used to replace an old railway

bridge in Nyköping, Sweden. Using conven-

tional methods, the railway line would have

been closed for more than a month. The use

of our Terex Demag CC 6800 lattice boom

crane with 1250t lifting capacity reduced this

period to less than a week.

How is Terex Cranes positioned in the heavy-

lifting market?

KM. Terex Cranes offers a full line of lifting

equipment tailored to a broad range of lifting

needs. As far as big crawler cranes are con-

cerned, Terex Cranes offers highly effi cient

equipment which provides a great return on

investment and can carry out particularly

large lifts in infrastructure development.

Through its engineering support, Terex fa-

cilitates continuous improvement as well as

special solutions that are developed to meet

clients’ needs.

ard confi guration cranes are provided with

additional equipment.

Wind turbines are getting larger and

larger, and they are sometimes erected in

areas where the terrain is rough and access

is diffi cult. For example, there may be width

restrictions on access roads for environmen-

tal reasons.

The knowledgeable Terex Cranes team

has helped our customers deal with these

specifi c challenges in various ways, for ex-

ample by developing a special mid-section of

the undercarriage for our 600t crawler crane,

Terex Demag CC 2800-1. This ‘narrow track’

setup allows the crane to travel on narrow

construction roads (5m width) from one wind

turbine erection site to another and even to

travel fully erected in quite hilly areas.

What heavy-lift challenges do you face in

other construction areas?

KM. Other application areas include the erec-

tion and refurbishment of nuclear and con-

ventional thermal power plants, the erection

of gas condensation reactors and general

construction.

Nuclear power plants are currently being

erected to replace older units and to extend

their output of electrical energy. Depending

on the type of plant, two ‘monster-lifters’

can be required to lift an incredible 800t at

a radius of 50m. In other cases they might

lift only 700t but at a full 100m radius. These

impressive loads are required for the power

plants to be built on-schedule, since the op-

timum scenario involves prefabricating many

components close to the place where they

will later be required.

Conventional thermal power plants are

also being built and this work is currently

typical for central Europe and North America.

In many cases, existing plants are refurbished

to increase effi ciency and to meet improved

environmental standards. The cranes used

in these situations have to be very versatile

to carry out the different tasks involved in

Have you noticed signifi cant changes in the

market for your heavy lifting segment?

Klaus Meissner. As a crane manufacturer

we have witnessed a growing demand for

our products. Increasing global wealth and

population growth has led to much new

investment in infrastructure construction in

many parts of the world.

We are seeing this infrastructure in-

vestment in all areas, including transport

infrastructure – road-building, railways and

waterways; the energy sector – building

new power plants and refurbishing existing

ones, as well as building facilities which

make use of renewable energy sources and

general construction.

How far are you affected by these develop-

ments?

KM. The energy sector, for example, is a

major area of operation for our large crawler

cranes. The activities we have noticed re-

cently include the building of new plants in

order to extend the supply base as well as

the replacement or refurbishment of existing

plants in order to make them more effi cient

and to reduce emissions. We have also seen

the development of renewable energy sourc-

es, such as wind in many different locations.

In order to cope with the lifting challenges

involved in these construction projects, very

effi cient and powerful machines are needed,

which incur minimal downtime and work cost

effectively. This is where the experience of

Terex Cranes comes into play.

What are the challenges for your cranes in

the erection of wind turbines?

KM. Wind turbines may be located on-shore,

near-shore or off-shore. Each location has

its own specifi c requirements. For example,

to erect wind turbines on-shore, heavy loads

have to be lifted to a great height on a rela-

tively short radius (eg. loads of 100t at 100m

height and 20m radius). In order to meet

these specifi c job requirements, our stand-

HEAVYWEIGHT CHALLENGE

As Director of Research and

Development for Terex Demag

Mobile Cranes between 2002 and

2007, Klaus Meissner oversaw

the development of many new

telescopic mobile and lattice

boom crawler cranes. In 2008, he

took on his new role as Director

for Terex Cranes Product Integrity.

Terex Cranes’ Klaus Meissner tells EU Infrastructure about the construction trends driving his company’s business.

TEREX ED P106.indd Sec1:106TEREX ED P106.indd Sec1:106 17/7/09 15:47:2217/7/09 15:47:22

Terex AD.indd 1Terex AD.indd 1 9/7/09 15:25:309/7/09 15:25:30

TETRA FOCUS

A STANDARD

PROCESSPhil Kidner fi lls EU Infrastructure in on the background of the TETRA standard and the recent advances in the

communications space.


PHIL KIDNER ED P108-110.indd 108PHIL KIDNER ED P108-110.indd 108 17/7/09 15:48:0217/7/09 15:48:02

Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) is a digital trunked mobile radio standard de-

veloped by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) with

the purpose of meeting the needs of traditional Professional Mobile Radio

(PMR) user organisations. What this means is that air interfaces, network

interfaces, as well as services and facilities, are specifi ed in suffi cient detail

to enable independent manufacturers to develop infrastructure and radio terminal prod-

ucts that are fully interoperable with each other. In other words, radio terminals from

different manufacturers can operate on infrastructures created by other manufacturers.

This ability of full interoperability is a distinct advantage of the open standards devel-

oped by ETSI. And, as several independent manufacturers support the TETRA standard,

this increases competition, provides second source security and allows a greater choice

of terminal products for specifi c user applications.

What’s more, as the TETRA standard has been specifi cally developed to meet

the needs of a wide variety of traditional PMR user organisations, it has a scaleable

architecture allowing economic network deployments. Besides meeting the needs of

traditional PMR user organisations, the TETRA standard has also been developed to

meet the needs of Public Access Mobile Radio (PAMR) operators.

Essentially though, the TETRA stand-

ard is the communications standard

for people that work in groups. It is for

mission-critical, business-critical users,

and it’s a standard that seeks to be a

robust technology. When it was created

we were working in the analogue world,

and TETRA was marked as the fi rst digital

trunked technology for these users. Cre-

ated in the early 1990s, TETRA has now

spread to, at the last count, 106 countries

around the world.

The original TETRA standard fi rst

envisaged by ETSI was known as the

TETRA Voice plus Data (V+D) standard.

Because of the need to further evolve

and enhance TETRA, there needed to

be some additional benefi ts made to

the original V+D standard, which is now

known as TETRA Release 1. After identi-

fying what advancement were necessary

TETRA Release 2 (TETRA 2) was stand-

ardiSed.

TETRA 2 included things like vocoder

and the extension of, but was primarily

about improved data-rates. Everything

we do goes through an interoperability process so that when manufacturers are cre-

ating TETRA 2 products (or TEDS, Tetra Enhanced Data Service products), the users

have confi dence that the products from different manufacturers will interoperate. All

the interoperation processes for TETRA 2 are now written and ready, we’re just waiting

for the products; the fi rst of which are being rolled-out later this year. In addition, next

year there’s two notable contracts around the world that will see some of the fi rst TEDS

products: fi rst in Norway with the Nordnet Network, and then a system in Johannesburg

for their police force, which will coincide with the World Cup in South Africa.

All of this is part of the process of keeping TETRA up to date in the here and now, and

we’re also looking to the future and keeping TETRA up to date in the future, and whether


Phil Kidner

“The TETRA standard has

been specifi cally developed to meet the needs of a wide

variety of user organisations”



that’s either through broadband TETRA or through interfacing with

some other technologies like LTE (Long Term Evolution) we, as an as-

sociation, are encouraging ETSI to do that standardisation process.

The evolution of TETRAWe are now talking about the next evolution of TETRA, and

whether it’s called TETRA Release 3 or not is just a detail, but ESTI

have begun work on that standard. We’re not being complacent; we’re

trying to keep TETRA as up to date as possible.

As TETRA is designed for people that work in groups, that ob-

viously includes public safety, police offi cers, ambulance and fi re,

but it also involves people that work in utilities, people that work

in oil and gas, and people that work in transport. In fact, the big-

gest sector in numbers of networks now is probably in transport. All

the airports and metros in Asia, for instance, are going TETRA. And

TETRA offers these organisations a digital trunk radio with extremely

clear voice capabilities, it offers secure communications over the air

interface, it can be encrypted, it is built to public safety standards

and the equipment is very tough and robust. TETRA is both voice

and data, so through voice it covers group calls, point-to-point calls

and telephony calls through a gateway. Through data, its data rates

cover the very small bits for updating positions and locations, right

through to sending pictures. Then the TETRA 2 standard is an en-

hancement of that data, making a better use of it.

At the TETRA association, we really do two things. Oftentimes we

are described as the marketing arm of ETSI, but that really doesn’t do

Phil Kidner is Chief Executive of the TETRA Association, which he has been involved with the last three years.

justice to everything we do. One of the things we do that’s very impor-

tant is manage the interoperability process. So TETRA signifi es the

fi rst time in the PMR world that interoperability has ever been thought

of or implemented, and we now have about 20 TETRA manufacturers

who participated in IOP testing. If you take the UK as an example, the

UK has the Motorola network, which supports terminals from Motoro-

la, from EADS, from Sepura, from Selex, from Cleartone and from lots

of different manufacturers. What that has meant is that it has created

a market that manufacturers want to be involved in, because they see

it going global.

The other side of it is that for the users. All that competition means

that the price of the product is driven down, which is clearly a strong

incentive to buy it.

The other thing that we do market TETRA. For example the Asso-

ciation has set-up events across the globe and we put on conferences

and exhibitions to demonstrate what TETRA can do for organisations.

Take the TETRA World Congress, for example, this year held in

Munich, Germany, back in May. The event is the fl agship event of

the TETRA community, and in Munich we exceeded all of our expec-

tations once again, with a number of registrations greater than we

have seen anywhere before. In fact, there was in excess of 2500 at-

tendees in Munich and we are now anticipating that number to grow

again in Singapore, which is where the new World Congress will be

held in 2010.

A future look at the upcoming events of the TETRA Association.

A GLOBAL REACH

Wireless China Industry Summit, September 2009Beijing, China

TETRA Moving Forward in India, September 2009New Delhi, India

Southern African TETRA Association Workshop and Exhibition, September 2009Gauteng, South Africa

TETRA Moving Forward in Russia, October 2009Moscow, Russia

TETRA Moving Forward in Chile, November 2009Santiago, Chile

TETRA Moving Forward in Brazil, November 2009Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

NEW RELEASESA closer look at the need for the TETRA Release 2

While TETRA Release 1 already offered a very comprehensive

portfolio of services and facilities, as time progresses there

became a need to evolve and enhance the technologies to better

satisfy user requirements, futureproof investments and ensure

longevity. Like GSM moving to GPRS, EDGE and UMTS/3G,

TETRA also needed to evolve to satisfy increasing user demand

for new services and facilities, as well as gleaning the benefi ts of

new technology.

As early as 1999, interest groups comprising both users

and manufacturers within Technical Committee (TC) TETRA

and the TETRA Association identifi ed the need to enhance

TETRA in several areas. Although the initial number of areas

identifi ed were very comprehensive, signifi cant events in the

telecommunications industry, combined with changing market

needs, resulted in the several services and facilities being

standardised at the end of 2005 as part of TETRA Release 2.

These included Trunked Mode Operation (TMO) Range Extension;

Adaptive Multiple Rate (AMR) Voice Codec; Mixed Excitation

Liner Predictive, enhanced (MELPe) Voice Codec; and TETRA

Enhanced Data Service (TEDS).

ments, futureproof investm

e GSM moving to GPRS, EDGE and UMT

so needed to evolve to satisfy increasing user d

w services and facilities, as well as gleaning the benefi

techno

TRA Release 1 already offered a very comprehe

tfolio of services and facilities, as time progresses there

became a need to evolve and enhance the technologies to better

satisfy user requirements, futureproof investments and ensure

longe

TE

UK

la, fro

of diffe

a mark

NEW RELEASESA closer look at the need for the TETRA Release 2

Wh


MENTURA AD.indd 1MENTURA AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:49:1825/6/09 11:49:18


STATE OFEMERGENCY

These are interesting times in the emergency response

space. Some of the current computer aided dispatch

systems are starting to add things that in the past were

optional bells and whistles into their base models. We’re

seeing computer aided dispatch systems that are coming

standard with AVL systems with mapping and GIS com-

ponents, even with some level of records management, whether it’s a

typical law enforcement records management or a prison or corrections

records management system. We’re seeing more case systems now

that are all encompassing. Things that have been done in the past as

bits and pieces are now becoming part of the basic package. It’s a good

thing because it’s more cost effective for the Public Safety Answering

Point (PSAP), but more importantly, it streamlines the operations.

One of the biggest hurdles that we’re challenged with right now

is interoperability when it comes to computer aided dispatch systems

and data. We’ve had people beating the drum for radio interoperability

for years, but people are just starting to realise that data interoperabil-

ity is just as important. For example, if a CAD system can’t talk to a CAD

system in another PSAP, then they’re potentially not as effective as

they could be, so we’re seeing some CAD systems that are starting to

tackle this by incorporating other components into their basic system.

There are more standards being proposed and developed as well,

and once the technology is in place we would be able to enable a huge

amount of improvements. An example would be, if you are in PSAP

A and you take a wireless call from someone who happens to be in

the next county but because of the technology of mobile telephones,

The Association of Public Safety Communications Offi cials’ Bob Smith explains the technological and human challenges facing emergency responders.

CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS

112-113-114_INFRAEU8_JULY09.indd 112112-113-114_INFRAEU8_JULY09.indd 112 17/7/09 15:54:0817/7/09 15:54:08


There are many reasons why these problems are happening: obvi-

ously you have the typical shift work issues, such as working midnight

shifts, weekends, holidays, being away from your family, and all of

the things that come with any form of shift work, but the situation of

understaffi ng makes these problems even worse. Today we have a tre-

mendous amount of overtime because the fewer people on staff, the

greater the need for overtime and people are working a tremendous

amount of overtime to compensate for the fact that their isn’t enough

staff. This perpetuates a pretty cycle. Everyone is short staffed and so

the people they do have burn out faster. And then they leave.

There’s also the inherent nature of the job. There is a huge amount

of stress that comes with dealing with people for up to 12 hours a day

who are in life or death situations and knowing that a single number

pushed wrong, or one simple word misstated on the radio, could

potentially cost someone their life. The fact is nobody ever calls the

emergency services because they’re having a good day.

On top of all these issues there are also issues with the industry

overall. For example, public safety communications personnel are

typically very low paid and the salaries are not commensurate with the

workload. Also, they are not very well respected in the public safety

industry because, for many years, the telecommunicators were simply

secretaries, answering the phone, taking messages and passing it on.

Thankfully we are starting to overcome that prejudice with certain

levels of certifi cations and standards and professionalism within the

industry, but there’s still a hint of that around.

Beyond that, 911, 999, 112, wherever you are in the world, the prob-

lem it is that the communications component of public safety is trans-

parent to the end user. We don’t have the big red fi re engines and the

fl ashing blue lights, we don’t have the medical bags and the kits, in other

words: you never see us. You may talk to us, but the people that actually

come out to help you are the people you identify with. We’re completely

the call bounces into you. Rather than taking their information and

calling another PSAP or transferring that caller, with this new tech-

nology you would actually be able to enter the data into your own

CAD system and push it through to the correct PSAP. There it would

immediately be displayed as a call logged into their system.

A further example would be that if you are in PSAP A and you

have an incident where you need mutual aid from PSAP B, rather

than taking the time to call that other PSAP and say, ‘We need the

fi re department or the ambulance service or this many police of-

fi cers to go here and this is what we’ve got going on’ you would

be able to push that data out to PSAP B, straight into their CAD

system. Again this populates the fi eld on the dispatcher’s end as

a call already in their system and then they just dispatch it, just

as they would if a call taker took the call on their end. With that

standard out there and other standards being developed, it’s just a

matter of time before we are able to achieve these things.

In fact I think we’re looking at no more than a couple of years before

we achieve this because, as CAD vendors improve their systems, put

their new products and newer versions and additions on the market,

they’ll start to incorporate these things that the public safety side

has determined that we need. It’s a proactive approach versus reac-

tive where we’re pushing out to them saying, ‘This is the kind of thing

we need to develop and work on,’ rather than them coming to us and

saying, ‘Here’s what we’ve built and we will sell it to you.’ This change

is really important. For years it’s always been the commercial side of

the industry pushing things. They have had a baseline concept of what

PSAPs need and they have had historical data they have collected and

put into a system. Now the roles have shifted.

As there are more and more CAD vendors on the market now, every-

one is striving to come to the top. But in order to do that they’re getting

much more intimate with the PSAPs and learning more about what we

need and what we are doing. The result of that is the PSAPs are starting

to dictate what CAD systems should and shouldn’t be able to do.

In truth, some of the most signifi cant challenges we’re currently

facing aren’t technological, but human. The biggest thing right now is

bodies in seats. We have a tremendous staffi ng and retention crisis in

public safety communications. In the United States, for example, the

shortage of nurses and teachers is fairly well known; by contrast the

public safety communications industry is experiencing a 19 percent

turnover rate, which means we are in an even greater crisis, but fewer

people know about it. The problem with that is that there are PSAPs

around the world training people that may not stay with them more

than a year or two; and what happens is that a tremendous amount of

time and money can be invested in this person just to see them turn

around and leave. But more importantly, the greater impact is you’ll

have PSA’s that have an entire staff with less than two to three years’

experience in their position.

“In truth, some of the most signifi cant challenges we’re currently facing aren’t technological, but human”

About APCOAPCO International is the world’s largest

organisation dedicated to public safety

communications. It has been around since 1935,

which is considerably longer than any other public

safety communications association. Today, more than

15,000 members rely on APCO for their professional

needs – from examining standards and issues to

providing education, products and services.

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transparent, so there’s obviously a public education campaign needed

there as well. Today though, this transparency, coupled with all of those

other factors means there is a real inability to get hold of those highly

effective people and then keep hold of them once you’ve got them.

There are a few things that we can do to improve the situation. The

easiest is just raising salary levels, but that’s not always feasible, es-

pecially in the current economic climate. However, there other things

that can be done that are just as simple (and in some cases that are

relatively cost effective or even free). Every year in April, for exam-

ple, we run in the US the National Public Safety Telecommunications

Week, an event that is recognised by most states and has received

Presidential and Congressional declarations.

It’s all about taking time to appreciate public safety telecommu-

nicators and making them feel the respect they deserve. Through the

event we are able to publicise an entire industry of highly dedicated,

professional public safety communications personnel. The ability to

do that costs next to nothing, but can have a big impact on morale.

Beyond that, it’s about reaching out and explaining to people exactly

what the telecommunicators do so that it becomes a more attractive

career option. You would be hard pressed to fi nd a kid anywhere in the

world that says, ‘When I grow up I want to be a emergency services

dispatcher.’ Educating them to what we do and how we do it is really

important because then we will get more qualifi ed candidates apply-

ing for these positions and we that we can rely on them to make it

through training, become an effective part of the staff and ultimately

stay with the industry for a decent amount of time.

About a year ago, APCO International partnered with

IJIS Institute, a nonprofi t organisation for commercial

information technology corporations. APCO

International received a grant from the Department of

Justice and launched something called the Public Safety Data

Interoperability Initiative.

The concept of the initiative is to bring the commercial

providers together with the public safety professionals,

allowing them to be more proactive so that, as they’re

developing the systems of tomorrow, they’re incorporating

safety professionals’ needs. “It’s a large project and we’ve put

out 11 standards already that deal with data interoperability

between basic CAD systems, records management systems,

databases and GIS systems,” explains Smith. “Everything

data interoperability-wise is being looked at by this project. It

includes public safety personnel, fi re service personnel, EMS,

law enforcement personnel. We have brought everybody that

could be potentially affected by data interoperability together

and with the IJIS Institute have brought the value of having the

Microsoft’s, the Cisco’s, the Sun Microsystem’s and all the big

IT providers out there to the table.”

In fact, the partnership has been in place for almost two

years now and is starting to see results in some of the work

being done. The CAD vendors are opening their arms and

embracing these standards that are being developing. “In fact,

says Smith, “It may even speed up the process of having a

higher level of data interoperability on the public safety side.”

STANDARD ISSUE

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EKAHAU AD.indd 1EKAHAU AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:47:2825/6/09 11:47:28

Security is a major issue for many TETRA

users. What options are available for those

seeking to encrypt and protect their critical

communications?

Michael Bertilsson. Sectra has developed a cryp-

to solution on a smart card that protects voice

communications from eavesdropping between

TETRA terminals from different vendors. This

means that users can choose terminals based on

their own preferences and maintain shared secu-

rity. Our crypto solution was recently launched at

the TETRA World Congress and is the first promot-

ing safe and efficient cooperation among various

public safety agencies.

Leading TETRA terminal vendors also pro-

vide communications security but solely be-

tween their own terminals. Without our crypto

solution, all TETRA users are limited to using

one type of terminal to ensure secure commu-

nications.

What is Sectra’s background? Are you new in

this line of business?

MB. Sectra is focusing 100 percent on security and

our expertise is within encryption. We are new in

the TETRA world but have been serving European

government authorities and defence departments

with voice encryption since the 90s.

Today, we have customers in more than half

of all EU member states using our personal voice

encryptor Tiger to protect their telephony from

eavesdropping. We have established coopera-

tion with leading international security bodies

and have important security approvals from EU

and NATO.

How important is it that TETRA networks bal-

ance security with flexibility?

MB. It is crucial to have secure communications

among public safety agencies such as the police,

customs and emergency services. These agen-

cies need to protect vital information that is es-

sential for society. Efficient cooperation requires

a crypto solution that is flexible and supports

the most commonly used TETRA terminals. In an

emergency situation you cannot be dependent

upon having the same type of equipment for se-

cure communication. It is much smarter to have

an independent crypto solution.

What is the secret of the flexibility provided by

Sectra?

MB. Sectra’s crypto solution on smart card is de-

signed to be used with any TETRA terminal sup-

porting the standard recommendation 02 & 08

from the TETRA Association’s Security and Fraud

Protection Group (SFPG). This means that our

smart card crypto can be integrated in virtually

any terminal on the market. All major terminal

vendors either support or will be supporting this

recommendation. Today, we work together with

Motorola, EADS and Sepura and our crypto so-

lution fully supports terminals from these lead-

ing vendors.

Are there any examples of where TETRA crypto

solutions have been successfully deployed in

real-world situations?

MB. We have developed this crypto for users in

the Swedish public safety network in close coop-

eration with the Swedish Defence Materiel

Administration. The Swedish public safety net-

work, based on the international TETRA standard,

is being built up in Sweden through 2010. This

network is used by government authorities, coun-

ty councils, municipalities and commercial parties

involved in public safety, security and health as

well as by defence forces.

From July 1 2009, the EU presidency will be

taken over by Sweden and Sectra’s crypto solu-

tion for TETRA will be used by public safety

agencies, such as the police, to secure critical

communications. n


Private conversationsSectra’s Michael Bertilsson tells EU Infra about theimportance of secure TETRA communication.

Michael Bertilsson is President of Sectra

Communications. He holds an MSc in

Computer Science from the Institute of

Technology at Linköping University and a PhD

in Information Theory. His doctorial thesis dealt

with cryptology and how to share secrets.

EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW

SECTRA:co proof 17/07/2009 16:09 Page 116

SECTRA AD.indd 1SECTRA AD.indd 1 25/6/09 11:52:2925/6/09 11:52:29

EU Infrastructureinvestigates the

big issuescurrently facing

the protectivecoatingsindustry.

DEEP COVER

PAINT RT:24sept 17/07/2009 16:05 Page 118


What applications within the infrastructure sec-

tor are your products used for?

Alexander Risch. There are a multitude of appli-

cations related to the use of our products in the

coatings sector. One typical application is its use

in electro deposition paints and automotive

fillers. Neuburg Siliceous Earth stands out as

functional filler because of its excellent proper-

ties in anti-corrosion coatings, powder coatings

and UV-cured wood coatings. Additionally, there

are many other application fields in the coating

sector, where our products Sillitin and the sur-

face-treated Aktisil are successfully used.

Petri Järvinen. We are able to offer a full range

of products and paint systems for the con-

struction and protective coatings sector, not

forgetting extensive services and support for

the whole supply chain, from architects to fa-

cility owners. We offer help and support for

choosing paint systems, technical service for

application and inspection, and instructions for

maintenance. We want to promote economical,

environmentally compliant and user-friendly

solutions for our customers operating in these

sectors.

How do your products address the specific chal-

lenges placed on them by the infrastructure

sector?

PJ. There has been a trend that customers are

looking for long lasting, high-quality systems to

protect infrastructure, and the awareness of VOC

legislation has increased the demand for prod-

ucts and systems that fulfil this criteria. But due

to the current economic situation, many cus-

tomers have started to look at low cost materi-

als, which is an alarming trend that will cause

higher maintenance cost for facility owners in

the future.

Despite this, Tikkurila continues to focus on

marketing high-quality products, not forgetting

the total economy of the painting process for

contractors and facility owners. We are also able

to offer a water-borne paint system for the C4

corrosivity category that is fully cured in eight

hours, with the help of our Dry Tech technology.

AR. The market for protective coatings is huge

and we would like to have a bigger stake in the

area of marine paints and anti-corrosion coat-

ings. Special requirements, which are necessary

in these applications, are gained with our prod-

ucts. Here I would mention in particular a good

chemical resistance, especially against acids

and salt water, good weather permeability and

anti-corrosion protection, and during processing

an excellent dispersibility, as well as very little

tendency towards sedimentation.

R&D is a big part of your operations. What are

your current areas of focus in terms of new

product development?

AR. We work with our own application technol-

ogy department for coatings and our technicians

are always working on finding new applications

for our filler. Due to this know-how, we can sup-

port our customers in their development; we

compile suggested formulations for many appli-

cations and we publish all results of our research

projects in the form of technical reports on our

website. The latest projects have been in the

area of ST polymers for elastic sealants, road

marking paints and pipeline coatings. This year

we have started a considerable study in the ap-

plication field of water-based wood coatings.

PJ. The driving force for our R&D has been the in-

stallation and production of VOC directives,

which means that our main focus has been in

high-solids and water-borne technologies that

help customers meet the requirements set up in

these directives. Alongside the environmental

aspects, we always take into account the cost ef-

ficiency of our products, meaning shorter over-

coating time between paint layers and the

reduction of the number of layers in the protec-

tive paint systems. In addition, new high-solid

products have enabled us to reduce the number

of paint layers without sacrificing the corrosion

protection performance.

ROUNDTABLE

Petri Järvinen is Vice President in

Tikkurila’s SBU Industrial Coatings, where he

is responsible for Technology and Business

Support functions. He now has close to 30

years’ experience in this specific area,

having worked in a variety of different

positions in the paint and coatings industry.

Alexander Risch joined Hoffmann Mineral

GmbH & Co. KG in 1999. In 2001 he became

responsible for the business unit of Toll

Manufacturing, a service that includes all

kinds of modification of inorganic raw

materials for different industries, realised

with the production facilities and knowledge

of Hoffmann Mineral. Since 2006, Risch has

been Head of Marketing and Sales,

responsible for all sales activities worldwide.

“Properties like goodcorrosion protectionfor ships are requiredto reduce the cost of

preventivemaintenance and

preservation”Alexander Risch


PJ. From a paint technology point of view, I refer

to my previous answers; but environmentally

compliant products and cost efficiency are the

driving forces in the near future as well. I also be-

lieve that in the long-term, raw material devel-

opment will enable the development of new,

innovative functionality coatings, meaning to-

tally new properties for protective coatings.

But what can be seen is that the importance

of services and distribution are increasing in the

protective coating sector. Our customers want to

focus on their core businesses. This requires

more support and consultancy from paint sup-

pliers with architects, engineers, painting con-

tractors and facility owners.

AR. In my opinion, marine coatings are a big

challenge. We should not forget that properties

like good corrosion protection for ships are re-

quired to reduce the cost of preventive mainte-

nance and preservation. This is essential for the

cost-intensive shipping market. Nevertheless,

the powder coatings market is also a big oppor-

tunity. The EU regulation regarding the ecologi-

cal contamination caused by anti-corrosion

pigments was the focus of one of our latest stud-

ies, and we were successful in developing a for-

mulation based on Neuburg Siliceous Earth, by

which one can reach the limited values under

the same excellent performance. This aim will

also be very important for the future. n


lamellar kaolinite, which was generated more

than 95 million years ago in a part of South

Germany. Our products have not been chemi-

cally processed or treated, and this is why the

REACH registration is not applicable for us.

Regarding the VOC Directive, our develop-

ments in coating exactly support these regu-

latory requirements to reduce the volatile

content intensively. The above-mentioned

projects regarding powder coating and water-

based wood coating show this in an excellent

way. It is of great importance to focus inten-

sively on the reduction of contaminant loads,

especially in the application of paints that are

used at home or that come into contact with

people.

PJ. Environmental issues have always been

very important for us, as our main factory has

been Vantaa, Finland from the very beginning.

Also, the legislation concerning paints and

coatings has been much more demanding in

our main market area of the Nordic countries

than in other parts of Europe, and we have al-

ways wanted to be ahead of legislation con-

cerning environmental and safety issues.

What do you see as the biggest challenges in

the protective coatings industry over the

next few years? And what are the biggest op-

portunities?

We have also made a breakthrough in UV

curing technology by developing a patented

UVITEC drying device based on UV-led technol-

ogy. The UVITEC technology offers many bene-

fits for customers, such as energy savings,

better surface quality and lower curing temper-

atures, and has won us a special award from the

RadTech Europe Association.

The EU Commission’s VOC Directive and

REACH legislation mean that compliance with

regulatory requirements is now more impor-

tant than ever for those in the paints and coat-

ings business. What demands is this placing

on the industry?

AR. Our filler, Neuburg Siliceous Earth, is a

natural mineral raw material: a mixture of

amorphous and crypto-crystalline silica and

“In the long-term, rawmaterial development

will enable new,innovative

functionality coatings”Petri Järvinen


HoffmanMinerals.indd 1HoffmanMinerals.indd 1 25/6/09 11:48:2425/6/09 11:48:24

liver the long-term investment that most peo-

ple believe is necessary.

“Usually, until there’s a disaster, you

don’t see this kind of political will, this push

to make something happen,” said Ramzi

Mahmood, Chair of the Civil Engineering de-

partment at California State University, in a

recent statement. And even then the impact

can be short-lived. Take the levee failure in

New Orleans in 2005, for example. While at

the time this led to widespread outrage,

many of America’s levees remain unaccount-

ed for, without an index of stability, let alone

an inspection. And look at the collapse of the

I-35W bridge in Minneapolis two years ago,

following which there has been little attempt

to increase the rate of repair or replacement

Also known as the Spaghetti

Bowl, the Circle Interchange

near downtown Chicago,

Illinois, sits between the Dan

Ryan, Eisenhower and Kennedy

expressways, its name referring to the curving

ramps that appear to form concentric rings

when viewed from above. It is an intricate de-

sign, logically defined as a stack interchange,

allowing vehicles to turn off in all directions,

with each of the four main lines having a sin-

gle entrance and exit to serve both direc-

tions of the crossing roadways.

The Circle Interchange is also notori-

ously known for its lengthy traffic jams:

local reports often reference miles of cars

populating the junction. On the day of writ-

ing this article, a police car was reported to

have “hydroplaned into a wall” by the Chicago

Sun Times and despite the fact that there were

no injuries, hours of delays occurred. Since

2004 the interchange has also been rated as

America’s third-worst traffic bottleneck.

Approximately 300,000 vehicles use the junc-

tion every day, losing a combined 25 million

hours stuck in its jams each year.

It’s a pretty harsh reality, but the Circle

Interchange is just one example of the state of US

infrastructure and its extreme need of a radical

overhaul. But now, even as Obama’s stimulus

money and the forthcoming federal transportation

bill promises to provide big injections for roads,

bridges and transit lines, experts warn that loom-

ing budget deficits could still make it difficult to de-


VIEW FROM AMERICASituation criticalFrom collapsed bridges to leaking dams, American infrastructure isfacing real decline. EU Infrastructure’s Matt Buttell asks, “What’s next?”122

Spaghetti Bowl, the CircleInterchange Chicago,

CRITICAL INFRA:feb08 17/7/09 15:44 Page 122

for the thousands of these structurally defi-

cient roadways.

However this year the implosion of the US

economy seems to be compelling infrastruc-

ture reform, and the timing, experts say, is per-

fect. “Infrastructure investment is also an

investment in our quality of life,” explains

Mahmood, “and at the same time it creates a

lot of opportunities and jobs that are needed

to really prime this economy.”

Sustainability While it remains the case that no one

can predict which bridge, levee or water

main will fail next, many problems are wide-

ly known, and work is long overdue. After all,

much of the modern-day infrastructure in

American was built at the start of the20th

century during the greatest age of construc-

tion the world has ever seen. Iconic land-

marks such as the Hoover Dam and the

Golden Gate Bridge, along with the interstate

highway systems, were all completed during

this investment-crazy, prolific era; and all of

this was closely matched by the development

of thousands of smaller bridges, water tun-

nels and roadways across the nation. The

truth, however, is that these investments

were made too long ago, and Americans

need to face up to the fact that their infra-

structure is in real trouble.

Experts argue that while new information

technology, fresh engineering and advanced

materials will be able to help the US not just

restore but improve its infrastructure, America

must first gather the drive to get there.

Back in February of this year, for example, at

the National Governor Association’s Winter

Meeting, Bruce Katz, Vice President and

Director of the Metropolitan Policy Program,

discussed with fellow governors the need for a

stronger infrastructure across the US – and,

more importantly, the reason why this must re-

sult in a sustainable future for the nation. “Put

simply, our infrastructure is in bad shape,” he

said in his opening speech. “From nearly 2000

‘high hazard potential’ dams, to the 60 percent

of urban roadways that are in a ‘less than fair’

condition, to the 72,000 bridges that are con-

sidered ‘structurally deficient’, it is not hyper-

bole to say that our infrastructure is crumbling

before our eyes.”

Also noted by Katz is the fact that in addi-

tion to its condition, the very design of

America’s infrastructure is quickly becoming

obsolete. The nation’s air traffic control system,

for example, is so outdated that it is considered

one of the primary reasons why the US has

been unable to make a dent in its airport con-

gestion problems. And transit systems contin-

ue to lay off hundreds of workers every year

because they neither have the ability to cope

with skyrocketing demand nor the resources to

operate the existing system.

Then there are the American water sys-

tems, currently in such bad condition that leak-

ing pipes lose seven billion gallons of clean

drinking water every day, and, further to this,

today’s average American driver is wasting

26 gallons of fuel each year due to traffic

congestion. This adds up to three billion

gallons every year, which is the equivalent

of one-fifth of a year’s imported oil from the

Persian Gulf. In fact, infrastructure-related

expenditures continue to cost American

households over a trillion dollars annually,

mostly in categories such as utilities and

transportation. After housing, transporta-

tion is the second-largest component of the

average family’s household budget, with 18

cents out of every US dollar spent here.

The biggest issue for Katz is that the

federal government is absent where it

should be present, and is failing to lead on

infrastructure issues of national signifi-

cance. As he explains: “We are simply inca-

pable of focusing on infrastructure issues

that transcend state borders and therefore

we’re not experiencing the same kinds of

economic impacts from transformational

programs like the interstates […] the social

impacts from iconic programs like rural

electrification […] or the sustainability ben-

efits from air and water pollution control

programs in the 1970s and 1980s.”

Katz also details the ongoing problem

of compartmentalising policies on all lev-

els. He argues that while families under-

stand that issues related to transportation,

housing and education are all intrinsically

linked, policymakers continue to keep

these issues separated by placing them in


CRITICAL

1Brooklyn Bridge, New YorkAs one of the oldest suspension

bridges still being used in the United

States, the Brooklyn Bridge is

considered as ‘structurally deficient’

under the federal rating systems. But

while officials do not fear a collapse

of the bridge – the main span

appears to be sound – some of the

approaches to the structure have

been marred by rusting steel and

deteriorating road decks. Repairs are

due in 2010, symbolising that a

country serious about its

infrastructure is prepared to take care

of its national icons.


specialised agencies. “In stark contrast to

this,” says Katz, “our global counterparts

are beginning to provide the kind of leader-

ship on infrastructure that many are now

calling on the US government to demon-

strate. And we need to learn from our global

competitors in order to get more strategic,

integrated and disciplined.”

In Canada, India, South Africa and Italy,

for instance, governments have introduced

specialist units throughout various agencies

to assist with the expanding opportunities

for public/private partnerships. Elsewhere,

France, has recently merged its Ministry of

Transport with Ministry of Ecology, Energy

and Sustainable Development; in Australia

there is now an overarching Department of

Infrastructure; Japan links infrastructure

with land development and tourism, all in

one agency; and other countries, including

the UK and Germany, are already establish-

ing intricate networks of data, metrics,

tools and techniques so that they can make

educated infrastructural investment deci-

sions based on clear priorities. “In America,

change needs to come,” says Katz.

And therein lies the biggest issue of all.

America once had a system that was the

Dover Bridge, IdahoIn 2008, a 75 x 75 cm piece of the

Dover Bridge’s deck was found

hanging by its rebar, and in the

National Bridge Inventory the

bridge scored an appallingly low

sufficiency rating of two out of 100.

5000 vehicles continue to use the

bridge everyday, putting drivers at

risk. To replace the bridge would

cost US$25 million, but such

funding is yet to materialise.

envy of the world. Now the country is better

known for its congested highways, second-rate

ports, third-rate passenger trains and a rather ar-

chaic air traffic control system. The majority of

America’s greatest projects of the 20th century –

dams and canal locks, bridges and tunnels,

aquifers and aqueducts – are at or are beyond

their designated life span. The haunting images of

contorted pavements, stranded vehicles, twisted

girders and heroic rescues that continue to punc-

tuate our news reports following the buckling of a

bridge or the breaking of the levees stand as a

harsh reminder that this infrastructure cannot

be taken for granted.

The fact is that America can afford to

have world-class infrastructure, but first it

needs to publicly acknowledge the respon-

sibility of neglecting the bridges, roads and

other essential hardware that have for too

long gone unloved. Then, and only then,

can the country hold its leaders account-

able for setting priorities and for policing

what is required to repair its already fragile

infrastructure. �


Lake Okeechobee, FloridaThree years ago, experts

announced that in any given year

there is a one in six chance that the

Herbert Hoover Dike will fail,

releasing waters from Lake

Okeechobee. Such an event would

result in South Florida’s water supply

becoming contaminated and would

leave over 40,000 waterside

residents flooded. In 2008, a 1000-

foot long stretch of treacherously

eroded land was found near state-

owned floodgates north of

Okeechobee. Nonetheless, for the

2009 budget year, the government

only allotted half of the requested

money needed for improvements.

CRITICAL

3

CRITICAL

2


VERINT AD.indd 1VERINT AD.indd 1 8/7/09 11:53:088/7/09 11:53:08


126IN REVIEWHot off the pressFrom climate change, to waste management and sustainability, EU Infrastructure takes a quick look at what some current enviromental books have on offer

A whole heap of businesses claim to be ‘green’ but how much of this is true is anyone’s guess.

Slashing carbon footprint is about more than just switching to a few low-energy light bulbs – it’s

about changing your whole mindset. Author Chris Goodall, an expert on climate change solutions,

guides you through cutting carbon and costs with advice on everything from ‘green’ computing and

data centres to recycling and reducing offi ce travel. It also features scores of case studies to help

you learn from other people’s successes and mistakes.

EU Infrastructure says: An informative book that illustrates how making a few simple changes

can have a massive impact on your carbon output. A good read.

The Green Guide For Businesses The Ultimate Environment Handbook for Businesses of All Sizes, by Chris Goodall

With Broecker as his guide, award-winning science writer Robert Kunzig looks back at Earth’s vola-

tile climate history so as to shed light on the challenges ahead. Ice ages, planetary orbits, a giant

‘conveyor belt’ in the ocean … it’s a riveting story full of maverick thinkers, extraordinary discoveries

and an urgent blueprint for action. Fixing Climate explains why we need not just to reduce emissions

but to start removing our carbon waste from our atmosphere. And in a thrilling last section of the

book, we learn how this could become reality, using ‘artifi cial trees’ and underground storage.

EU Infrastructure says: A fascinating account of how we have arrived at a point where climate

change is no longer preventable. A compelling read for anyone wishing to understand the biggest

challenge of our age.

Fixing Climate The Story of Climate Science – And How to Stop Global Warming, by Robert Kunzig and Wallace Broecker

Thomas Friedman’s bestseller The World Is Flat has helped millions of readers to see globalisation

in a new way. Now Friedman brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilising climate change and

rising competition for energy – both of which could poison our world if we do not act quickly and

collectively. Friedman proposes that an ambitious strategy (which he calls Geo-Greenism) is not

only what we need to save the planet from overheating; it is what we need to make us all healthier,

richer, more innovative, more productive and more secure.

EU Infrastructure says: Hot, Flat and Crowded is classic Friedman – fearless, incisive, forward-

thinking and rich in surprising common sense about the world we live in today. Here, Friedman

assesses the state of the world environment and what we should be doing to stop it getting much,

much worse.

Hot, Flat and Crowded Why the World Needs a Green Revolution by Thomas L. Friedman

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128PHOTO FINISHA picture is worth a thousand words.Two world leaders contemplate a major reconstruction job.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and

US President Barack Obama survey a dam-

aged government building in the centre of

L’Aquila during the G8 summit on July 8,

2009. The building was destroyed by a pow-

erful earthquake that hit the town in April.

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INFRA EU 8

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