At the invitation of the Ghella construction company, the Italian Ambassador to Norway, Stefano Nicoletti, participated in celebration of Saint Barbara day. A religious mass in several languages was officiated more than one hundred meters deep inside the tunnel where the Italian construction company, in joint venture with the Norwegian group AF, is carrying out the excavation work of an 11 km tunnel that will guarantee the city of Oslo an alternative reserve to the current water supply for the next decades.

The new aqueduct will bring drinking water to Oslo from Holsjord, in the Lier area, thanks to several connecting tunnels of about 18 kilometers, 11 of which will be excavated through the use of "moles" or Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM). At the moment, Ghellas TBM has completed the excavation of 3.2 of the total 11 km, or almost a third of the tunnel, thus maintaining the necessary schedule for completion of the works by 2027.

Ambassador Nicoletti, who immediately after the religious celebration addressed a greeting message to the approximately 150 workers from different countries, involved in the work, said he was particularly pleased with the invitation and underlined: Ghella represents one of the best examples of how Italian technology and know-how can play a crucial role in the strategic infrastructure sector. The excavation of tunnels using the mole represents an important alternative to traditional methods of excavation using explosives, prevalent in Norway, and it is a technique in which Ghella and other Italian groups have a competitive advantage. I am pleased to see that, exactly one year after the inauguration of the works, almost a third of the tunnel has already been completed. I am therefore confident that the successful implementation of this project will promote the use of Italian moles in other infrastructure projects in Norway. The partnership with AF Gruppen is therefore an example of successful synergies between Italian and Norwegian industries in a strategic sector such as infrastructure.

Source: Italian embassy in Oslo https://amboslo.esteri.it/it/news/dall_ambasciata/2024/12/festa-di-santa-barbara-nel-cantiere-sotterraneo-di-ghella-il-tunnel-per-la-nuova-canalizzazione-idrica-di-oslo/