ITA-AITES launches the 2015 ITA Tunnelling Awards

Lausanne, Switzerland — With the growth of infrastructure needs and requirements for better use of space and resources, the development of underground options have often proved to provide relevant solutions to these challenges. As part of this endeavour, the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) has taken the initiative to launch its own dedicated Tunnelling Awards to identify outstanding achievements in the field of tunneling and underground space use, and provide international recognition to these remarkable contributions.

ITA has identified nine categories of awards which candidates will register via the website. This initiative will demonstrate the recent achievements of major projects that aim to improve sustainability of cities and life comfort of inhabitants. Through these awards, ITA will demonstrate the achievements of the organizations, people and recent innovations.

The candidates who have been preselected, by a panel of tunneling and underground space experts, will present their projects during a one-day conference and the winners will be announced during a dinner the same evening.

For its first organized awards event, ITA has chosen a unique underground location. The conference and the awards banquet will take place in the Hagerbach test gallery in Switzerland, which is a fascinating underground world comprising numerous tunnels and caverns that can be used for conferences and creative events.

Award categories are:

• Outstanding Tunnelling Project of the Year – up to €50m
• Tunnelling Project of the Year – between €50m and €500m
• Major Tunnelling Project of the Year – over €500m
• Renovation/Upgrading project of the Year
• Technical Innovation of the Year
• Environmental Initiative of the Year
• Safety Initiative of the Year
• Innovative Use of Underground Space
• Young Tunneller of the year

The website to register an entry in the respective category, will be available from April 10 until August 14 at www.awards.ita_aites.org.

ITA is a non -profit and non-governmental international organization (NGO), which aims at promoting the use of underground space as a solution to sustainable development. Founded in 1974, ITA currently associates 71 Member Nations, 200 affiliated members, 15 Prime Sponsors, and 50 supporters.