TransManche Link
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TransManche Link (Cross Channel Link) or TML was a British-French construction consortium responsible for building the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel between Cheriton in England, and Coquelles in France. At the time, it was the largest privately funded construction project in the world.[1]
History
[edit]In April 1985, the British and French governments invited proposals for the construction of a link between the two countries to be privately funded. In July 1985, the British contractors formed Translink Contractors while the French consortium formed Transmanche Construction. On 18 October 1985, these two groups were merged to create the bi-national project organisation TransManche Link (TML). In January 1986, the two governments selected the proposal submitted by Channel Tunnel Group/France Manche for the construction of two undersea tunnels. On 12 February 1986, the Concession Agreement of 1986 between the governments of France and the United Kingdom with the goal of financing, building and operation of the Channel Tunnel.[2][3] Shortly thereafter, Channel Tunnel Group awarded a contract for the tunnel's construction to TML.[4]
While TML designed and built the tunnel, financing of the project was handled by Eurotunnel Group, who would own and operate it upon completion; on top of this arrangement, the British and French governments jointly controlled final engineering and safety decisions, which were later formalised through the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority. The British and French governments awarded Eurotunnel a 55-year operating concession, originally set to running from 1987; this was extended by 10 years to 65 years in 1993.[5] Private funding for such a complex infrastructure project was of unprecedented scale. An initial equity of £45 million was raised, which was added to by £206 million private institutional placement, £770 million was raised in a public share offer that included press and television advertisements, a syndicated bank loan and letter of credit arranged £5 billion.[4][6] Construction of the tunnel took place between 1988 and 1994; at the peak of construction activity, which employed roughly 15,000 people while in excess of £3 million was being expended each day.[7]
In October 1986, Eurotunnel was partially floated, after which point shareholders, rather than the contractors or creditors, exercised direct control over the company.[8] Over the following year, relations between TML and Eurotunnel deteriorated, with significant and increasingly public rows erupting over cost, delays and programme management.[9][10]
During the winter of 1989/1900, Société d'études techniques et économiques, the independent engineering project manager for the tunnel's construction, produced a critical assessment of claimed costs by TML.[11][12] Nevertheless, in September 1990, TML proceeded to formally submit a claim to Eurotunnel for additional payments related to the construction.[13] By May 1992, TML had filed extra payment claims totalling $2.6 billion for its work.[14] Eurotunnel Group repeatedly alleged poor workmanship in the project, which was disputed by TML.[15] This conflicting claims would result in a long-lasting dispute between TML and Eurotunnel that continued throughout the remainder of the tunnel's construction.[16][17] Into the mid 1990s, while TML maintained public disputes over a £500 million compensation claim over the delays and cost of the project, the individual contractors allocated considerable sums in reserve for a potential pay-out.[18]
The final cost for the tunnel's construction came to around £9.5 billion, roughly double TML's original estimate of £4.7 billion.[19][20] This overrun has been attributed, in part, as a response to enhanced safety, security, and environmental demands.[21] Furthermore, financing costs were 140 percent higher than forecast.[22] On two occasions, the Bank of England was compelled to intervene in the project's finances.[23]
Following the completion of the Channel Tunnel in 1994, TML was dissolved.[24]
Organisation
[edit]
The participants were as follows:[25]
Channel Tunnel Group (later Translink Contractors)
- Balfour Beatty
- Costain
- Tarmac Construction
- Taylor Woodrow Construction
- Wimpey International Construction
- NatWest
- Midland Bank
France Manche (later Transmanche Construction)
- Bouygues
- Dumez
- Société Auxiliaire d’Entreprise
- Société Générale d’Entreprises
- Spie Batignolles
- Crédit Lyonnais
- Banque Nationale de Paris
- Banque Indosuez
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ "Chunnel mastermind gets Olympics job". constructionnews.co.uk. 18 November 2005.
- ^ "History". Eurotunnel. 30 November 1984. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Eurotunnel 2005 Annual Review" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
- ^ a b Wilson 1194, pp. 14–21.
- ^ Foreign & Commonwealth Office 1994, p. 5.
- ^ "Tunnel vision: the Eurotunnel story". BBC News. 15 March 1999.
- ^ Anderson 1994, pp. xvi–xvii.
- ^ Grimes, William (16 September 1990). "Chunnelvision". The New York Times.
- ^ "CHUNNEL IS BEHIND SCHEDULE". Financial Times. 25 August 1988.
- ^ "The biggest project since the pyramids". constructionnews.co.uk. 5 September 1996.
- ^ ROSKROW, BEN (11 January 1990). "12Jan90 UK: BEN ROSKROW REPORTS ON THE CONFLICT AT THE CHANNEL TUNNEL". constructionnews.co.uk.
- ^ "Atkins looks back on 20 years of Channel Tunnel". constructionmanagement.co.uk. 9 May 2014.
- ^ "14Sep90 UK: TRANSMANCHE LINK SUBMITS CLAIM TO EUROTUNNEL FOR EXTRA CASH". constructionnews.co.uk. 13 September 1990.
- ^ Cohen, Roger (28 May 1992). "Dark Days for the Channel Tunnel". The New York Times.
- ^ Casassus, Barbara (23 October 1991). "CHANNEL TUNNEL PROJECT FACES YET ANOTHER CRISIS". Journal of Commerce.
- ^ "Past times". constructionmanagement.co.uk. 14 February 2002.
- ^ "06Feb92 UK: EUROTUNNEL AND TRANSMANCHE LINK PLAY DOWN REPORTS OF SHARES OFFER AS SETTLEMENT FOR CLAIMS DISPUTE". constructionmanagement.co.uk. 6 February 1992.
- ^ Anderson, Graham; Fishlock, Bill (21 September 1995). "TML furious at 500m demand". constructionnews.co.uk.
- ^ O'Connell, Dominic (8 January 2006). "Channel tunnel project has made Britain £10bn poorer". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ Flyvbjerg et al. 2003, p. 12.
- ^ Flyvbjerg et al. 2003, pp. 96–97.
- ^ Flyvbjerg et al. 2003, p. 3.
- ^ Harrison, Michael (10 December 1993). "Channel link survives financial nightmare". The Independent.
- ^ Lowe, Tom (17 March 2025). "From the archives: Building reviews the Channel tunnel terminals". building.co.uk.
- ^ Channel Tunnel on Structurae database
Bibliography
[edit]- Anderson, Graham; Roskrow, Ben (1994). The Channel Tunnel Story. London, UK: E & F N Spon. ISBN 0-419-19620-X.
- Foreign & Commonwealth Office (1994). The Channel Tunnel Story: The world's longest undersea tunnel system. London, UK: Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
- Flyvbjerg, B.; Buzelius, N.; Rothengatter, W. (2003). Megaprojects and Risk: An Anatomy of Ambition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-00946-4.
- Kirkland, Colin J., ed. (1995). Engineering the Channel Tunnel. London, UK: Chapman and Hall. ISBN 0-419-17920-8.
- Wilson, Jeremy; Spick, Jerome (1994). Eurotunnel – The Illustrated Journey. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-255539-5.
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