On Tuesday 16 December, representatives from Infraestructuras de la Generalitat de Catalunya and the Barcelona Metro L8 joint venture (UTE) visited the Sorigué’s tunnel ring segment factory at the La Plana del Corb Industrial Complex, in Balaguer (Lleida), as part of the metro line extension project, for which the business group will be responsible for producing the tunnel ring segments. 

During the visit, led by Sorigué’s Infrastructure and Materials division, the factory was presented to show the manufacturing process for the tunnel ring segments and to inspect the moulds and master ring, with the aim of verifying and calibrating their geometry and dimensions prior to the start of production. 

The day concluded with a working meeting where the progress made was presented and the next steps for the project were defined. 

The L8 extension works, driven by the Generalitat de Catalunya, will extend the metro line by four kilometres, create three new metro stations (Gràcia, Clínic and Francesc Macià) and also upgrade Espanya station.  

Over 20 years of experience in tunnel ring segments 

The Sorigué group has been building tunnel ring segments for over 20 years. During this time, it has built over 600,000 pieces of varying diameters, ranging from 3,900 mm to 11,700 mm in external diameter, depending on the requirements of each project. 

It is currently producing the tunnel ring segments for the construction of the central section of the L9 of the Barcelona Metro. 

Other landmark projects Sorigué has been involved in include building the new commuter-rail access to Barcelona Airport’s terminal, extending the Sabadell railway line for Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat and the 5th section of the Segarra Garrigues irrigation canal.