Week of 13 June
1. King Albert II on site (Belgium)
On Wednesday 15 June, the construction site of the King Albert II Institute was inaugurated in the presence of King Albert II himself, former King of the Belgians and father of the current King Philippe, Queen Paola, the Minister for Education, Scientific Research and University Hospitals, Valérie Glatigny, and the Mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Olivier Maingain. The Albert II Institute of the Saint-Luc University Clinics in Brussels is a reference in Europe and a leader in French-speaking Belgium for the treatment of adult and child cancers. In addition to clinical care, the institute stands out for its cutting-edge research and teaching activities.
The construction of the Institute's new building was entrusted to BESIX Group's subsidiary Wust, and Moury. It will enable the oncology and haematology activities to be grouped together in a single 20,000 m² building. Work began in January, with completion of the structural work scheduled for 2023 and opening in 2024.
2. Waste, bats, and bee-six (Belgium, Georgia & UAE)
Respect for biodiversity and the environment on our construction sites often involves small, one-off actions. We are pleased to present three of them, carried out last week on three different construction sites.
- Together with the client and its partners, our colleagues in Poti, Georgia, did not wait for the annual World Clean-up Day to clean up the area around the site. They filled dozens of garbage bags: so much waste that the wind won't blow into the sea!
- On the site of the new HQ of the Belgian railway company SNCB-NMBS, our colleagues created shelters for bats on the facades. Just follow the little Batman logo to find the entrance!
- On the Waste-to-Energy site, a site operation focusing on bees took place. Bees regularly find refuge on our construction sites. The project team created a campaign in English, Arabic and Hindi to call for beehive not to be destroyed and to explain how to relocate them: an adventure that a beehive experienced last week, a heart-shaped beehive: no doubt a way to thank Bee-Six.
All these actions coincided with World Environment Day on 5 June. If you have not already done so, we invite you to consult the Only One Earth communication published earlier this week, which presents positive initiatives by BESIX Group in the fields of water and waste management, reducing our emissions and respecting biodiversity. Our colleagues from the Waste-to-Energy project in Dubai have also made a video on this subject, showing solutions implemented on the site. Every action counts!
3. The first tunnel takes shape (Italy)
Earlier this year, we started digging the first of two tunnels in the Valfabbrica project in Italy. The Casacastalda tunnel. A new milestone has just been reached with the pouring of the first section of the final tunnel arch. 300 m³ of concrete that forms the first 12 metres of the tunnel. Of course, this is only the beginning for this tunnel of more than one and a half kilometres in length, but it is a promising start! As Hervé Jourquin, Deputy Project Manager, explained in January, we are using a traditional method, digging metre by metre and gradually installing steel beams. These form a metal ring in contact with the rock on which the concrete is sprayed, a first operation that secures the underground gallery. The final tunnel is built in this first safety gallery. A tube within a tube, the first metres of which are being celebrated today. Kudos to BESIX Italy and our partners there!
4. Andermatt wins award (Switzerland)
The Andermatt Concert Hall, built by BESIX in Switzerland, is the winner of the Architizer A+ Awards 2022, in the category Cultural Halls/Theatres. The Architizer A+ Awards are a worldwide reference. Opening in 2019, the hall seats 650 and has an exceptionally flexible stage that can accommodate a 75-piece orchestra. The photos below illustrate its exceptional design. The Concert Hall is located next to the hotel which was also built by BESIX and in which the group is a shareholder. Another special feature of the project is that it is in an alpine ski village, in the heart of one of the best alpine resorts according to the Savills Ski Resilience Index.
And then this… A child-sized infrastructure (The Netherlands)
The 2.2-kilometre-long energy-neutral Rottemeren tunnel will be one of the sections of the new A16 motorway currently under construction north of Rotterdam. While construction work is in full swing, a first section was inaugurated last week in the Plaswijck children's park! It is in fact a mini tunnel, reserved for the park's go-karts, accompanied by an educational exhibition on the A16 project. An original way of explaining to children the scale of a major infrastructure project through a series of fun and interesting facts. The cord was cut by two representatives of the De Groene Boog consortium, of which BESIX is a member.
