https://twitter.com/DARS_SI/status/1489910966347304960?cxt=HHwWgMC4gamIna0pAAAA

DARS (Slovenian Road Association) tweets that tunnelling in Karavanke road tunnel between Slovenia and Austria has reached 1723 meters, which is half of the Slovenian part of the tunnel.

This tunnel is building the second tube for the existing Karavanke Tunnel. The existing tube is two-way in the same tunnel, therefore it does not fit for the European Tunnel Safety norms. This is the reason for building the second tube.

The contractor for the Slovenian part for this second Karavanke tunnel is Cengiz. Construction on part on Slovenia's responsibility started too late because of the tender process. The first tender which was also awarded to Cengiz had been cancelled after some objections by the loosing contractors Slovenian builder Kolektor CPG,  Bosnia's Euro-Asfalt and its Slovenian partner Cestno Podjetje Ptujm. After 2 tenders, appeals, cancellations, re-negotiations and almost 2 years passed, finally Cengiz was awarded with the Euro 120m contract to build the second tube of the Karavanke tunnel. The Austrian side is already completed.

In a followup tweet, DARS writes that:

The works are being carried out in accordance with the general schedule. Excavation work will be completed by October 2023, and all work by May 2025. Excavation work on the Slovenian side took two years for the Austrians due to complaints from unselected contractors.

https://twitter.com/DARS_SI/status/1490012859199365127