Alpacem secures entire Karawanks Tunnel
Alpacem, a market leader for cement and concrete in the Alpe-Adria region, secures one of the most important infrastructure projects in the region with the Karawanks Tunnel. Alpacem cements and binders have been used in the Austrian construction project since 2018. Now that the contract has been signed in Slovenia, Alpacem will be supplying the entirety of a cross-border tunnel project for the first time in the company’s history. Over a total length of eight kilometers, which is divided into two construction lots of roughly equal size on the Austrian and Slovenian sides, more than 170000 t of cement and binder will be used by the time the tunnel is opened to traffic in 2024. For the production of such large quantities, which have to be of the highest quality and uniformity, especially in tunnel construction, Alpacem relies on state-of-the-art production technology and the targeted transfer of competence between the individual company locations. The Austrian construction section is supplied by Alpacem’s Wietersdorf site (w&p cement) and the Slovenian section by Alpacem’s Anhovo site (Salonit).
“Infrastructure projects such as the Karawanks Tunnel are essential for the survival of the construction industry, especially in times of Corona. That is why we are all the more pleased that we were able to win the entire contract – after the Austrian, now also the Slovenian part – for the Karawanks Tunnel,” says Bernhard Auer, Managing Director Sales, Marketing and Business Development. In the development and production of the special cements used, fully automated cement la-boratories are employed at both Alpacem sites in Wietersdorf and in Anhovo, which check uniformity throughout the entire manufacturing process.
The preliminary work for the full expansion of the Slovenian part of the Karawanks Tunnel has been underway since the fall of 2020. In two to three years, the tunnel breakthrough should then take place with the Austrian construction lot, which has already been supplied by Alpacem since fall 2018.
