Krraba Tunnel in the Road Section Tirana – Elbasan

The project concerned the construction of a tunnel in the road section Tirana – Elbasan. The tunnel is a twin tube, 2,375 m long, and the soil layers considered in the project area are mainly composed of sandstone and mudstone formations.

IRD provided FIDIC supervision services for the Construction Works for the tunnel.

The project objectives are:

• To act as the independent Engineer according to FIDIC 4th Conditions of Contract for Constructions 2005 edition. The Engineer is responsible for the tunnel construction contract supervision;
• To assist the Client (General Roads Directorate) in all contract management tasks, including the preparation, execution and taking over of any elements of the works;
• To review NATM Designs: an independent specialist tunnel designer’s is employed to carry out a critical review and check of the Designer’s designs for the tunnel and to propose and prepare value engineered recommendations based upon NATM construction technology; the Employer considers that it is of benefit to him to adopt NATM designs based on such review and the “observational method;
• To review the results of soil and rock mass type investigations and verify the Rock Mass Types encountered and the respective unit prices for tunneling works.