Preparations for WTC2024

It is time to prepare for the World Tunnel Congress hosted this year in Shenzhen, China. As the premier event of the underground space construction industry, WTC2024 - as organised by the Tunnel & Underground Works Branch of the China Civil Engineering Society - will address the priority issues of the moment. The services of the industry are needed now like never before as populations and urban communities expand and connectivity, renewable energy, and environmental protection intensifies, places greater demands for underground infrastructure.

Preparations for WTC2024 in Shenzhen, China

Under the theme Tunnelling for a Better Life, ideas and innovations will be shared through 486 paper presentations selected from 792 international contributions and programmed across five simultaneous technical sessions and poster sessions (Fig 1). Focal points of session discussions will include cuttingedge excavation methods; advancements in lining, ground support, and water control technologies; and solutions for excavating and operating under extreme and challenging geological and logistical conditions.

Important pages on the WTC2024 website to help plan and prepare for your trip:

• WTC 2024 Registration

• WTC 2024 Venue

• Accommodation Options in Shenzhen

• Visa Applications and Requirements

As the host nation, China has completed an astonishing record of underground infrastructure development over recent decades. Since 1990 when it hosted the 16th WTC in Chengdu, the nation has increased its underground alignments for roads from 130km in 1990 to 26,784km (a growth of 206 times); for railways from 2,359km to 21,978km (a 9.3 times increase); and for metro lines, now in more than 50 cities, from 54km to 8,006km (an increase of 148 times). China is also:

• home to more of the world’s largest TBM projects of up to 17.5m in diameter;

• has taken immersed tube design and construction to extraordinary dimension; and

• completes more conventional and drill+blast excavation per year than many countries combined.

All this experience and knowledge will be shared in Shenzhen where the international underground construction community will benefit from open discourse, professional networking, lessons learned and technical advancements. As well as connecting with existing colleagues and new, delegates will enjoy a World Tunnel Congress with a memorable Chinese social and cultural flair and take home a wealth of contacts, ideas and updates.

• WTC 2024 Exhibitors List

• WTC 2024 Technical Site Visits

Exhibition of underground engineering equipment, materials and services

For specialist industry suppliers, the best event to attend each year as exhibitors is the WTC. In Shenzhen, the World Exhibition & Convention Centre will host an exhibition hall of 20,000m2 all under one roof, on the same floor as the five simultaneous technical session lecture rooms, and hosting also the Congress catering and food services for delegate lunches and coffee breaks. These arrangements guarantee for exhibitors the greatest footfall and traffic corridors through the exhibition space for the 2,000+ event delegates expected from all corners of the world.

Exhibition space for the three full exhibitor open days costs RMB￥40,000 or about US$ 5,500.00 for a 3m x 3m (9m2) booth with 500W power supply and RMB￥3,500 (US$ 500.00) per m2 for areas of up to +36m2 without furnishings. There are final booth spaces available and

Fig 1. The three days of technical presentations are part of

now is the time to act to secure your shopwindow to connect with underground and tunnel infrastructure engineering and construction delegates representing all levels and disciplines of the industry from all countries of the world. These delegates will include visitors from the 79 Member Nations of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, which will hold its 50th General Assembly during the Congress. Delegates and industry decision makers of the highest calibre can be assured and visitors of the most focused and dedicated are a certainty.

Shipping details for your booth materials are all clearly explained in the Exhibitors’ Information Pack and exhibition setup professionals are on-hand to assist with booth design, staging, furniture, lighting and electrical equipment as needed.

Important information for exhibitors and an exhibition hall floorplan can be found in the Exhibitors’ Information Pack

ITA 50th Anniversary celebrations

Together with the technical programmes, the 2024 World Tunnel Congress will also host celebrations to mark the 50th Anniversary of the ITA.

Founded in 1974, under the auspices of the OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of the United Nations, celebrations of this auspicious occasion will bring together Past Presidents of the Association to recall their contributions and chart its greatly expanded development.

Through the five decades, there have been 17 Presidents from different countries of the world (Table 1). At its 50th Anniversary celebrations in Shenzhen, eight of the Past Presidents will attend in person and two will join online. It is through the passion, wisdom, and dedication of all the ITA Presidents that the Association is what it is today. The unprecedented gathering of Past Presidents will provide foresight, direction and collective guidance for the Association and the industry as it faces the future.

Sir Alan Muir Wood of the UK, as the first and Honorary Life President of the Association, holds a special place in ITA history and a Lecture at each annual WTC is presented in his memory. This year the Muir Wood Lecture, as one of

an overall seven-day programme of technical site visit tours, trai ning sessions, Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, an accompanying industry exhibition, and cultural social events with a Chinese flair

WTC2024 to host ITA 50th Anniversary celebrations

sessions, the General Assemblies and meetings of the International

the most forward-looking presentation of the programme, will be given by Dr Priscilla P Nelson of the USA.

WTC 2024 is an occasion to celebrate the achievements of the underground infrastructure community and to look ahead to the innovative solutions that will bring about a better life for all of human kind.

Visit the following web pages to know more about the ITA, its Committees Working Groups and 79 Member Nations and the World Tunnel Congress of 2024

• ITA-AITES

• About the ITA

• ITA Member Nations

1974-1977 Sir Alan MUIR WOOD†UK

1977-1980H. C. FISCHER† SWEDEN

1980-1983 Günter GIRNAU GERMANY

1983-1986Jack LEMLEY† USA

1986-1989Einar BROCH NORWAY

1989-1992Colin KIRKLAND†UK

1992-1995Dan Zdenek EISENSTEIN†CANADA

1995-1998Sebastiano PELIZZAITALY

1998-2001 Alfred HAACK GERMANY

2001-2004Andre ASSIS BRAZIL

2004-2007 Harvey PARKER† USA

2007-1010Martin KNIGHTS UK

2010-2013In Mo LEE S. KOREA

2013-2016Søren EISKESENDENMARK

2016-2019Tarcisio CELESTINOBRAZIL

2019-2022 Jinxiu YAN CHINA

2022-2025Arnold DIX AUSTRALIA

China is hosting the WTC and ITA General Assembly for the second time after the first in 1990 in Chengdu when Colin Kirkland of the UK (centre left) was President and Dan Eisenstein (fourth from left) was Vice President

• ITA 50th Anniversary Video

• ITA LinkedIn

• WTC2024 Programme

• WTC2024 Registration

• WTC 2024 Promotion Video

Table 1. Presidents of the ITA since inception in 1974

Left: The ITA Executive Council under first President Alan Muir Wood of the UK (third from left) at it inaugural gathering in Oslo, Norway, 1974. Right: Second President E.C. Fischer of Sweden (centre) and Vice President William Lucke of the USA (left) at the 4th annual meeting in Tokyo in 1978 hosted by Member Nation Japan and Dr Takeshi Shinohara (right) President at the time of the Japan Tunnelling Association

ITA and WTCs through the years

Over recent years, TunnelTalk has published video reports about the ITA and the different WTC events and ITA General Assemblies.

Click on the images below to watch the videos.