The contract signed with Baku Metropolitan is the first civil works contract in Azerbaijan signed by Bouygues Construction. The project forms part of the city’s mass transit extension plan, which will see an expansion and upgrading of the metro with completion expected in 2030.
Philippe Bonnave, Deputy Chief Executive of Bouygues Construction, said: "We are proud that our client, Baku Metropolitan, has shown such confidence in us and we trust that this augurs well for further collaboration between us in the future. This project will provide the residents of Baku with a better quality of service and greater frequency of trains."
The project consists in separating the two lines that form part of the current network. At the moment, both lines share the same platforms.
Bouygues Travaux Publics will construct two caverns at a depth of 25m around the existing tubes, which will make it possible to build the new tunnels with operations being interrupted for only five weeks throughout the 36-month period the project will last.
The works are scheduled to begin in February 2015, and will involve 250 people at peak periods. The teams will face a technical challenge, because the tunnels are situated in a dense urban environment and in very difficult geological environment. The techniques of jet grouting1 and ground freezing will be used.
