DMT, a member of the TÜV Nord Group, has been appointed to conduct high-precision surveying for two underground tunnels on the landmark Cairo Metro Line 4 project in the Egyptian capital.
The contract focuses on ensuring the exact alignment of the tunnel tubes stretching from Cairo’s city centre to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) on the west bank of the Nile – a critical requirement for the safety and reliability of the upcoming underground rail link.
Cairo Metro Line 4 is one of the most important infrastructure projects for the future transport development of the Cairo metropolitan region, representing a cornerstone of Egypt’s infrastructure strategy. It is designed to alleviate urban congestion and provide a direct, high-capacity link to one of the world’s premier cultural destinations.
Lux ... deploying high-precision technology.
Precision under pressure
DMT is tasked with verifying the geodetic alignment of dual tunnel tubes over a distance of nearly 19 km. The surveying is performed in tandem with excavation to ensure the planned route is maintained with millimetre precision, even underground.
“The expansion of high-performance transport infrastructure is a key prerequisite for meeting the growing demand for mobility in expanding metropolitan regions. By deploying our expert teams and our high-precision measurement technology on site, we are helping to lay the foundations for safe and permanently stable operation,” says Jens-Peter Lux, DMT Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure and Raw Materials at the TÜV Nord Group Business Unit Energy and Resources.
To maintain geodetic control of tunnel excavation, DMT is utilising the Gyromat, widely recognised as the world’s most accurate surveying gyroscope. The system provides continuous, high-fidelity direction and position data, allowing engineers to detect and correct even the slightest deviations from the target path in real-time.
Complementing the gyroscopic data, DMT is establishing a high-level geodetic reference network. This involves satellite-based GNSS measurements for global positioning; precisely coordinated fixed points and geodetic polygon chains; and integrated data calculation to bridge the gap between surface planning and underground execution.
“As the length of the tunnel increases, the demands on geodetic control rise significantly, as even the smallest measurement deviations can add up over the course of the tunnel,’ explains Benedikt Wolters, Senior Surveying Engineer at DMT. ‘With the help of the Gyromat, we achieve maximum breakthrough accuracy. Our aim is to monitor the tunnelling process in such a way that deviations are detected at an early stage and construction work is supported in a targeted manner.”
DMT brings its expertise from a portfolio of hundreds of international metro and tunnel projects to the Cairo development. The combination of decades of experience, high-precision measurement technology and a clear focus on quality, safety and precision underpins reliable project implementation with the aim of creating a modern and sustainable transport infrastructure for the rapidly growing Cairo metropolitan region.
Based in Essen, Germany, DMT Group is a global engineering and consulting firm specialising in infrastructure, civil engineering, and energy. Operating as a holding company for 14 subsidiaries under the TÜV Nord Group, DMT employs over 1,100 specialists worldwide.