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In the presence of
Princess Máxima and
leading employers,
Joop van Oosten
signed ‘Talent to the
Top’, a document
designed to help
further the promotion
of women to higher
and senior positions.
Successful test rides
Although Nuttall is still busy building a special bus
lane near Cambridge, the initial test rides have
already been successfully completed. Secretary
of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly, visited the site
this summer and had a ride in the bus and said
what a wonderful project it is!
I
n a joint venture with
client Cambridgeshire
County Council, the
bus companies that will run the
services on the 26-kilometre
lane trialled various types of
bus, including a double-decker.
The buses were driven along the
four-kilometre section between
Longstanton and Oakington at
speeds of up to a hundred
kilometres an hour. A guide
wheel keeps the buses ‘on
track’. ‘The trials have exceeded
our expectations’, says
Cambridgeshire County Council’s
project manager Bob Menzies.
‘Even at such high
speeds it’s a
comfortable ride.
It shows that we’ve
opted for the right
building method.’
Cambridge
commuters are due
to step aboard for
the first time in the
spring of 2009.
BAMWorld
Internal publication for the employees of Royal BAM Group nv Volume 5, number 3, Autumn 2008
Another stretch of Irish M6 completed
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey,
T.D. (left) and Councillor Barry Cowen
Chairman of Offaly County Council at
the official opening ceremony.
Another stretch of the M6
Dublin to Galway interurban
National Primary Route, the
Kilbeggan to Athlone dual
carriageway project, has
recently been completed by
Ascon and was officially opened
by Minister for Transport
Noel Dempsey, T.D.
Ascon completed the
29 kilometres of new dual
carriageway on time and within
budget. In addition, the project
comprised eighteen principal
structures, seven kilometres
of national, secondary and
regional roadway and three
grade separated junctions.
Noel Dempsey, T.D. said
at the opening ceremony:
‘The new road will improve the
quality of life for those living
in the local areas while cutting
driving times on the Dublin
to Galway route.’
Tunnel contract
in Luxembourg
Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau and
Galère have been awarded a jointventure
contract for the construction
of the Stafelter road tunnel in
Luxembourg. The project value
amounts to 88 million euros, of which
75 percent will be earned by BAM. The
client is the ministry of Public Works. The
construction period will be 48 months.
The Stafelter Tunnel has two tubes of
nearly two kilometres length. The
project is part of the Route du Nord
(A7) between Luxembourg City and
Mersch. Both operating companies
have been also involved since 2004 in
the construction of the Grouft Tunnel
for the A7. The Grouft Tunnel will be
completed in 2009.
End in sight
In western Ghana, the end of
Interbeton’s major road
improvement project is in sight.
The company has re-laid and
widened over 44 kilometres of
two-lane road near Sefwi Wiawso.
‘This summer we laid new
pavement on the final sections.
All that remains is to lay a wearing
course, followed by road marking
and the installation of traffic signs.
We’re due to finish any time now’,
says Joost Keessen. Interbeton’s
project manager and his team
landed in the Ghanaian bush in the
autumn of 2005. Their first task
was to build an entire base camp.
The actual road works started in
February 2006. Keessen: ‘What
they had was an unsealed clay
road, which was almost
impassable in the rainy season.
The new road will significantly
improve living standards in the
region.’

Lights on in the Hubertus Tunnel
In the Hubertus Tunnel in The Hague, some of the tunnel
lighting is now on, the ventilation fans have been installed,
and the aid station cabinets are already in place. VTN Verkeers-
& Besturingstechniek, part of BAM Infratechniek, is currently
installing all the tunnel’s M&E works.
Marco Beeloo.
The tunnel was built by BAM
Civiel in a joint venture with
Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau.
‘We follow hot on the heels
of the construction team and
consult closely with them about
the work we’re doing’, says
VTN’s site agent Marco Beeloo.
All the electrical installations in
the southern tube, which was
bored first, are in position.
‘We’re now connecting them up.
We won’t have so many teething
troubles to contend with in the
northern tube, so we’ll be able to
make up time there on our M&E
works’, says Beeloo.
Installation involves attaching
thousands of anchors to the
tunnel walls. ‘Here we’re
dealing with wall elements
made of B70 concrete, which is
much harder than the kind used
in normal tunnels. The anchors
Eco version of successful Xbloc
BAM Infraconsult is enjoying worldwide success with its Xbloc. At the same time in
IJmuiden (near Amsterdam) researchers are testing an eco version of the breakwater
unit they have developed in-house. ‘2008 is the year of the big breakthrough’, says
Bas Reedijk, coastal engineering team manager and spiritual father of the Xbloc.
C
ompared to the
concrete cubes that
cover many seaport
jetties, the Xbloc is not only
cheaper, but provides better
protection. The Xbloc also scores
very favourably in comparative
tests with other types of
breakwater unit. The ‘secret’ lies
in its smart design, which not
only saves on concrete, but
allows the units to interlock
much more effectively. Reedijk:
‘Even though the concrete
cubes currently used on the
embankments in IJmuiden weigh
forty tonnes, they’re easily
BAM Civiel technicians get the
formwork ready for the pour.
Bas Reedijk (left) with BAM Civiel
site agent Arie Bootsma.
shifted around by the waves.
The more complex shape of
the Xblocs makes them much
less susceptible to wave action.
They’re also quick and easy to
put into position. What all this
amounts to is a
considerable saving on
building costs and more
economical use of raw
materials, which in turn
reduces CO2 emissions.’
The unit was first used
three years ago in a
harbour on the east coast of
Ireland. ‘Two winters on and the
blocks have withstood everything
the Irish Sea has been able to
throw at them. The blocks have
since been used in Indonesia and
Nigeria. We currently have
projects on the go in Georgia,
Guatemala and again in Ireland.
The largest project to date is
being carried out in Panama, with
30,000 Xblocs being placed over
a three kilometre stretch for bank
protection.’
are usually put into pre-drilled
holes rather than shot in, but,
after carrying out various tests,
we decided for the sake of speed
to shoot them in.’
www.hubertustunnel.nl
Eco version
The new development is the eco
version of the Xbloc, designed
to enhance the ecological value
of hard protective structures.
The inner side walls of the steel
formwork manufactured by
BAM Materieel are lined with
rubber mats featuring various
profiles. This produces rough
surfaces that make it easier for
shellfish and seaweed to attach
to the concrete. In early June,
BAM Civiel placed ten of these
blocks on IJmuiden’s southern
jetty breakwater.
www.xbloc.com
IJmuiden
Amsterdam
U
The Hague
Rotterdam
Brussels
Xbloc placement in IJmuiden.

Groningen
Lelystad
trecht
Maastricht
‘Giving direction to sustainability policy’
‘The formulation of the BAM Business Principles has given
direction to the further development of the Group’s policy
on sustainability’, says Tom van Beek.
T
he corporate staff
department’s director
of Human Resources
was also appointed director of
Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) by the Executive Board
from the beginning of this year.
In his new position, Van Beek was
closely involved in the development
of the BAM Business Principles,
as published in BAM’s first
sustainability report.
‘Sustainability has been very
much in the spotlight for some
years now and BAM hasn’t been
sitting on its hands in this area
either. Our operations occupy a
central position in the community
and we need to be open to all the
signals the community sends us.
A wide range of initiatives have
already been put in place. The
BAM Business Principles provide
a cohesive framework for all
these initiatives.’
‘We decided on a realistic,
pragmatic approach. We don’t
commit ourselves to things we
can’t deliver. There are the
familiar themes of People, Planet
and Profit, but with a certain
degree of ambition too. We want
to show our shareholders, our
clients and our building partners
as well as our current and future
employees that we are serious
about making significant inroads
in sustainable development and
sustainable construction.’
Emphasis
Now that the Business Principles
are there in black and white, it is
essential to take the next steps.
The director of CSR: ‘Firstly, we
aim to document the initiatives
we’ve been developing within
the Group. A good deal of
In Brussels’ European district
Building around an inner court
Interbuild is part of a consortium building a 75,000 m2 office complex in the
heart of the European district in Brussels. But this strategic location has its
drawbacks. During EU summits, which are held four times a year, the district
is closed off. Interbuild can continue with construction, but the movement of
materials in and out is prohibited. Work is due to be completed in June 2009.
From left: Martijn Berckmans, site
agent, Jos Jonkers and Manu Leysen,
project manager.
The project, with a
contract value of
81 million euros, is being
built for Axa Real Estate
Belgium. The building
has two underground
floors, and at some
Tom van Beek will explain the
BAM Business Principles at
Young BAM’s Ultrasustainability
workshop.
information about them is
already to be found in our
recently published Sustainability
Report for 2007. We will also be
putting an emphasis on certain
areas.
A start was
made with
the June
symposium on reducing CO2 emissions. Furthermore, we
want to report on various
subjects in more detail. There
is also a concern that we should
focus on the management of
locations even three. It has
seven above-ground floors of
offices and one level devoted to
technical installations. ‘All the
parties involved, including the
client and architect – Atelier de
Genval/ELD Partnership – use
Procos, an internet platform for
data exchange and approving
drawings. As a tool, it’s virtually
indispensable to controlling the
construction process. It would
be nigh on impossible to see a
large project like this through
without this kind of internet
platform’, says senior site agent
Jos Jonkers.
‘BAM employees are very
involved in sustainability’
waste flows. Thirteen per cent
of all the materials we take
onto building sites is returned
unused. So thirteen out of every
one hundred roof tiles go back
into storage.
We should be
able to make
this issue the
subject of a sustainability drive
in collaboration with our
building partners.’
Batavia Stad
extension
BAM subsidiary Heilijgers is to
work on Batavia Stad again.
The company that helped to
complete the first phase of
this factory outlet centre near
Lelystad (central Netherlands)
in 2001 is now part of a
construction team building
a new 25-shop extension. The
shops will be ready to shell
stage by the end of this year.
www.bataviastad.nl

Ashmolean in Oxford
Latest techniques for oldest museum
Opened in 1683, the Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology
at Oxford is on record as the oldest museum in the world. As
part of the renowned Oxford University, it has always played an
important role in education. The museum’s new home will enable
it to continue to perform the full extent of this role in the future.
H
BG Construction
is building a new
exposition centre
directly behind the six-metre
deep main Ashmolean building
with its monumental facade
dating from 1875. The contract
value totals 42 million euros,
including the amount required
to finish room interiors. The
project will be completed in
August 2009.
Logistic puzzle
Construction manager Anthony
Nagle: ‘The existing structure
on the site was built in the fifties
and had a very inefficient floor
plan. The new building will double
the floor space and enable
visitors to circulate more easily.’
The construction site is fully
enclosed by other buildings.
Both sides border on university
buildings, to which the new
structure will be as close as
25 millimetres. Only at the back
is there a little more room, and
that is where the only possible
access to the site will run,
making use of a nearly fourmetre-wide
lane to the public
street. ‘The problem is that we
will have to cross a busy
walkway along which many
hundreds of pedestrians pass
every day. Material deliveries
will be completely impossible
when the annual St. Giles fair is
being held. During these four
Anthony Nagle.
days, we will only be able to
access the construction site on
foot. All in all, it is a big logistic
puzzle.’
Eye-catcher
Because the building is fully
enclosed, only the back wall
has received any attention from
architect Rick Mather, insofar
as it is visible with a little effort
from the public street. He put
most of his energy into the
building. Nagle: ‘The six-storey
high atrium will be an eyecatcher.
Since the floors on the
upper storeys are spread further
apart, the atrium widens out at
the top. The various spaces
around this atrium are accessed
by means of narrow bridges
supported on glass beams. A
glass skylight in the roof allows
daylight into the building.’
The building will accommodate
39 exhibition rooms, each
equipped with so-called ‘fat
walls’. ‘These consist of concrete
structural walls with a facing
wall built
from
steelwork
covered with
two layers of
plywood and
two layers of
drywall. This
creates a
strong wall
for attaching
display cases. All the building
services, including air
conditioning, can be hidden
in these walls.’
Drawing contest
The museum welcomes
schoolchildren and students
almost every day. To better
facilitate their visits, there will
be a separate entrance at the
back with a reception area
and a classroom. The strong
association with schoolchildren
was also expressed in a drawing
contest. Many children were
inspired during the construction
activities, and HBG Construction
awarded a laptop computer to
each of the three prize winners.
www.ashmolean.org
Boring simultaneously
German transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee recently set two
tunnel boring machines in motion at the same time to start work on
building the Finne Tunnel. Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau is a joint
venture partner in the construction of the seven-kilometre rail
tunnel, which will form part of a new rail link between Erfurt and
Leipzig in eastern Germany. The two single-track tunnels, each
eleven metres in diameter, are being bored simultaneously.
Meanwhile, the tunnel tubes are being excavated from the other end
using traditional methods. The project will be completed in 2011.

Best score for
considerate construction
Independent CCS inspectors visited over seven hundred construction
sites in the United Kingdom during July. HBG’s site for the new
facilities at Newcastle-under-Lyme College scored a massive 39
out of 40 points including six maximum scores of five out of five.
The average score for all sites by all contractors was under 32;
fewer than one in two hundred sites achieve a score of 39.
T
he measures taken
at the new College
include industryleading
occupational health
arrangements available to
staff and visitors, including a
fortnightly visit by a registered
nurse to give toolbox talks on
healthy eating and BMI, skin
cancer, prostate cancer and
other topics about men’s health.
Appointments and drop-in
sessions provide one to one
confidential consultations and
testing of blood pressure and
blood sugar monitoring for
diabetes.
Further initiatives have included
raising awareness of giving
John Van Vooren (middle),
project manager, together
with Jean-Pierre Vansweevelt
(right), site agent and Koen
Nollet, project engineer.
blood; the local NHS Stop
Smoking Service will run a sevenweek
support programme for
operatives, staff and visitors,
and the site has purchased a
defibrillator and trained several
staff to provide immediate
emergency first aid on and
off site.
Community involvement and
environmental initiatives include
inviting local businesses to
advertise on site free of charge
and proving a monthly window
cleaning service for neighbours.
Environmental initiatives are
reviewed through an Eco-
Committee which has
introduced carbon footprint
Sliding bridge over the Albert Canal
To make the Albert Canal suitable for four-barge push-tow units, the
Belgian BAM subsidiary CEI-De Meyer is building a new bridge near
Maastricht. The two hundred metre bridge is being fabricated in
sections on the eastern bank, and the sections are slid into place across
temporary piers using jacks. The interim bridge will be open to traffic
at the end of this year. CEI-De Meyer will then demolish the old bridge
and build new abutments and piers in its place. At the end of 2009
the whole bridge will be moved sideways into its final position.
A range of facilities will be integrated into the western abutment,
including a bunker, a war museum with a cafeteria and an open air
theatre.
monitoring, promoting car
sharing, and a range of recycling
measures for glass, stone,
aluminium and tyres. The College
joins the Eco-Committee on a
monthly basis.
Following a visit from the
Environment
Agency, the site
has been recommended for the
Queen’s Award for Excellence.
HBG’s project manager Ivan
Gethin said: ‘I’m delighted we
achieved maximum score for six
of the eight categories assessed
for the new College. It is
‘39 out of 40 points’
Ivan Gethin with two schoolchildren
at HBG’s Newcastle-under-Lyme
College site.
important to us that the College’s
neighbours can see we are doing
our best to minimise the impact
of construction and that we reach
out to the community we work
in to be good neighbours. I’m
particularly looking forward to
showing children
from local schools
what we do on and around
the site.’
Gethin is overseeing the sixtymillion-euro
project, which
started on site in June, and
is expected to complete in
September 2009.
New office in Poland
Tebodin SAP-Projekt, the Polish
branch of the Tebodin family,
has moved into a new office in
Warsaw. The growth of the
branch made it necessary to look
for a more modern and efficient
accommodation. This has been
found in the Marynarska Business
Park, close to the centre of the
capital city. About 250 employees
are working on various projects at
the new location.
In the photo, the Lafarge project
team is meeting to discuss the
recently awarded contract for
the design, procurement, safety
control, construction
management and supervision
of the extension of two cement
plants for Lafarge. Both the
projects in Malogoszcz and
Piechcin includes the
construction of storage facilities,
cement mills, truck offloading
installations, internal transport
equipment, etcetera. The project
in Malogoszcz, some two
hundred kilometres south of
Warsaw, will be finished in
April 2009. The completion of
the new facilities in Piechcin,
250 kilometres northwest
of the capital, is scheduled
for November 2010.
~
~

BAM Rail shares in
‘tartan’ tram deal
BAM Rail has been granted a
contract from Siemens as a
subcontractor for the
construction of a tram line in
Edinburgh. The contract includes
the construction of nine
kilometres of double-track tram
line in the centre of Edinburgh
as well as ten kilometres in the
direction of the suburbs and the
airport to the west of the Scottish
capital. The total building costs
amount to approximately forty
million euros. BAM Rail is
responsible for the construction
of nineteen kilometres of
embedded rail in the centre of
Edinburgh, twelve kilometres of
Building restoration in
Brussels’ Grote Markt
The Grote Markt in Brussels has a series of magnificent historic
facades that are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Belgian
operating company Galère is tackling five of these monumental
buildings with kid gloves.
Robert Giunta, Galère’s site
agent: ‘We’re cleaning the
facades, restoring the stone
and ornaments, and are
working on the windows too.
A lot of the decorative elements
ballasted sections and seven
kilometres of tracks on a
concrete surface, as well as sixty
switches within the turnkey
project. The embedded Rheda
rail system was used for the
first time by BAM Rail when
constructing high-speed line
‘HSL-Zuid’ in the Netherlands.
BAM Rail will be using the
Rheda City system, a simplified
version of the ballastless track
system, in Edinburgh where the
rails and sleepers are concreted
into place using concrete slabs.
It is expected that the tram line
will be delivered at the end of
2010.
are being given a new layer of
gold leaf.’
The facades are sandblasted at
low pressure. Giunta: ‘The
pressure is so low that only the
dirt and grime are removed.
Foam concrete:
light and airy
A work floor here, a filler layer there, and now and then even a load
pumped in to fill an old sewer ... BAM Betontechnieken somehow
always knows how to successfully bring the advantages of foam
concrete into the limelight.
‘It’s a versatile product that is
quick and easy to use’, says Jan
Bergsma, project manager at
BAM Betontechnieken, while
behind him foam concrete flows
like thin yoghurt from a hose.
A thirty centimetre filler layer is
being poured on the top floor of an
office building under construction
on the flower auction site. ‘We mix
the materials in situ, which avoids
the inconvenience of concrete
mixers coming and going’, says
site agent Co van Moorselaar.
Bergsma: ‘We can pour around
four hundred cubic
metres a day. Once it’s
cured, you have a strong
filler layer that can take
loads of up to seventy
tonnes a square metre
depending on the type
of foam concrete used.
It’s easy to process and
lightens the workload
considerably.’
The stone is unaffected. The
machine is turned on at five
o’clock in the morning. At ten
we have to stop and remove all
the sealing materials we’ve put
around windows and doors. The
protective tarpaulin around the
scaffolding is rolled up so that
Like thin yoghurt ...
Weak peat soil
Foam concrete also seems to be
a hot item in the civil engineering
sector as well as in residential and
non-residential construction.
BAM Betontechnieken recently
used it for the foundations of
a road built over weak peat soil.
Bergsma: ‘To prevent subsidence
and to avoid giving vermin a place
to nest, we also fill in old sewers.
In Amsterdam this year, we’ll be
using close to a thousand cubic
metres of foam concrete to do
just that.’
Jan Bergsma (left)
and Co van Moorselaar.
visitors can see the shop
windows and the entrances
to the brewery museum and
the restaurant. We are allowed
to work above them on the
scaffolding as long as we
keep the noise down.’
Design Boulogne Jonkers, Zoetermeer
Photography De Beeldredaktie, René van den Burg, Dries Vandenbrande
Printing Thieme Media Services, Delft
BAM World is compiled by Monica van Soldt, Royal BAM Group nv,
Public Relations Department: +31 (0)30 659 86 22, m.van.soldt@bamgroep.nl