Central Interceptor Project, the TBM has been ordered

The TBM that will be used for the excavation of the Central Interceptor Project has officially been ordered. The Central Interceptor is New Zealand’s largest ever wastewater tunnel, that will run between Western Springs and the Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The tunnel will be excavated with a 5.45m diameter Earth Pressure Balanced Tunnel Boring Machine (EPB TBM) provided by Herrenknecht.
The TBM will be tunnelling underneath Auckland, at depths between 15 and 110 meters underground. The internal diameter of the tunnel will be 4.5 meters, high enough to fit a giraffe.