The 110-tonne machine has been given the name Randi.
It will excavate a 2.5km-long, 4m-diameter tunnel beneath Copenhagen. Once completed, the tunnel will serve as a large underground reservoir capable of storing 30,000m³ of stormwater.
The tunnel will protect Valby, one of the 10 districts of Copenhagen municipality, and the western part of Frederiksberg against flooding caused by cloudbursts and high rainfall.
The project is being undertaken by the contractor joint venture of MT Højgaard Danmark and Eiffage and engineering consultant NIRAS for clients Hofor and Frederiksberg Forsyning A/S.
The Valby Cloudburst Tunnel is part of a much larger effort to make Copenhagen more resilient to climate change. Together with other climate adaptation initiatives across the city, it will help protect homes, infrastructure, and urban life from increasingly intense rainfall.
