News

ILF Consulting Engineers was commissioned by a well-known client to investigate the installation of a turbine for energy recovery in a potential crude oil pipeline system. Not only did this investigation have to make sure that the energy recovery system would not have a negative impact on the conveyance of oil, but also take account of the fact that pipelines are normally operated using different flow rates under changing pressure conditions.

To read more on the results of the investigation and the associated commercial aspects, take a look here or see the current issue of the International Oil & Gas Engineer.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info.muc@ilf.com.

As part of the Scaling Solar Program, the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement with the Government of Togo to develop several grid-connected solar power projects with a combined capacity of up to 90 MW. Being the 6th country to join the IFC’s Scaling Solar Program, in Togo the Government is seeking to increase capacity so that growing energy demands can be met whilst at the same time reducing costs.

ILF Consulting Engineers has once again been chosen by the IFC to be the Technical Advisor for the implementation of this lighthouse project in Togo. Once completed, it will be Togo’s first utility-scale solar development of this kind.

For further information please contact us at info.muc@ilf.com.

The Hinterglemmer Bergbahnen have been able to start filling the expanded Hochalm II storage reservoir (Austria) on time – a modernization which has taken two years. The water reservoir for the snowmaking system of the Hochalm area was expanded in two construction stages. Works began on 4 June 2018, and water started flowing into the Hochalm II storage reservoir on 30 August 2019. Filling of the storage reservoir, which can hold 251,300 m³ of water, began on schedule.

By delivering innovative design and a clever construction sequence, ILF Consulting Engineers has been assisting its long-standing client with the expansion and strengthening of the Hochalm snow-making system since 2016. “The close cooperation with the Hinterglemmer Bergbahnen enabled our team to deliver an innovative project to secure snow conditions in Hinterglemm for future ski seasons,” says Gerhard Pumpernik, Head of the Department of Ski Resorts and Alpine Engineering at ILF.

ILF would like to thank the Hinterglemmer Bergbahnen for their confidence in ILF and congratulates them on accomplishing this milestone.

To us, protection of critical infrastructure includes more than just having a “secure” laptop or on-site security. In our latest article, our experts present a holistic approach to protecting critical infrastructure against a multitude of threads.

Read more on our website or in the latest issue of World Pipelines Extreme.

For further information please contact us at info.muc@ilf.com.

ILF Consulting Engineers attended a ceremony held in the city of Kara-Suu (Kyrgyz Republic) at the end of May, at which special vehicles purchased as part of the “Improving Water Supply and Sanitation in Kara-Suu” project were handed over. The key speakers at the event were the Mayor of Kara-Suu, Kutugali Kozubayev, the Akim of the Kara-Suu district, Tilek Matraimov, the EU Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, Eduard Auer, and the EBRD Director for Central Asia, Neil McCain. Werner Redtenbacher, Head of the Water and Environmental Engineering Department at ILF, gave an update on the project’s progress.

The project is funded by loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and by a grant from the European Union. It consists of four different packages. ILF, the leader of a consortium of various partners, is responsible for the design and procurement of works for the rehabilitation and expansion of the water production facilities, the rehabilitation of buildings at the Telman wellfield site, and the rehabilitation and expansion of water and wastewater networks (Package 1), as well as the reconstruction of the wastewater treatment plant (Package 2). Packages 3 and 4 include the purchase of special vehicles and the supply and installation of equipment.

The Engineering News Record (ENR) annually publishes a ranking of design firms according to turnover. Like last year, ILF Consulting Engineers has once again been ranked 60th in the “Top 225 International Design Firms” category, in which firms are ranked as per their turnover in 2018, excluding their shares in the respective home market.

In the “Top 150 Global Design Firms” category, which ranks firms as per their total turnover in 2018, ILF ranks 135th.

For ten years now, ILF Consulting Engineers has been supporting SOS-Kinderdorf (SOS Children’s Villages) to give children and young people a loving home.

“The cooperation with SOS-Kinderdorf is something which is very close to our hearts, because after all, children are our present and our future. We are delighted if ILF can help support children, young people and their families, who find themselves in difficult situations, and if our donations can help them find their way out of crises”, Josef Mayr, one of the managing directors at ILF Consulting Engineers Austria GmbH. It is our heartfelt wish at ILF to continue this partnership in the coming years, and thus achieve positive things together.

“Thanks to the support of private donors and companies, over the last 70 years we have been able to come a step closer to achieving our goal. I would therefore like to sincerely thank ILF for their contribution”, Manuela Mader, SOS-Kinderdorf.

Even after 70 years, SOS-Kinderdorf still has one over-arching goal: “To give every child a loving home” – be that in the care of alternative families or by supporting families in need. In total, SOS-Kinderdorf in Austria provides a new home for around 1,800 children and young people, and supports more than 4,700 children and their families.

The National Water & Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) commissioned ILF Consulting Engineers and its international partner for the “Kagera Water Works” project in Uganda. Being the first and largest of many packages which will make up the umbrella project “Development of Water and Sanitation Infrastructure for the Mbarara & Masaka Areas”, this project will be financed by the French Agency for Development (AFD).

The overall objective of the project is to secure and improve the supply of drinking water as well as the sanitation infrastructure in Mbarara, Masaka and their surroundings. Package 1 comprises the development of the Kagera water supply system, which includes an intake from the Kagera River – Upper White Nile – (capacity: 8m³/s), the Kagera drinking water treatment plant (first phase capacity: 18,000 m³/d) and the main 58-km-long transmission pipe to Mbarara.

ILF and its partner have been awarded this contract to perform design, tendering and works supervision services for this vital water supply project.

ILF Consulting Engineers have been appointed by ASFINAG BMG, in a joint venture, to carry out the tunnel design for the S18 Lake Constance expressway as part of the preliminary design (route selection process). The S18 is a major link road between the A1 motorway (Switzerland) and the A14 Rheintal/Walgau motorway (Austria).

The area under investigation encompasses the connection to the Swiss road network (A13/A1) near St. Magrethen/Höchst, where the crossing of the Rhine, the Lustenau canal and the ÖBB railway line is planned. Two new junctions are also being considered.

The project area is of great importance in view of settlement area, agricultural use, recreational use and groundwater utilization. Some of the conservation areas as well as the areas protected under the EU’s Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive, which are found within the project area, also have a significant influence. The geology along the approximately 7 km long section is characterized by the fluvial sediments from the Rhine and lacustrine deposits, and therefore poses a particular challenge for the tunnel design.

On behalf of ADNOC Refining, ILF Consulting Engineers has recently completed the basic design for the Somogy Field Development in Hungary.

The aim of this project was to provide all the necessary engineering and project management (cost, schedule and risk assessment) services needed for the verification of the existing gas/condensate gathering system and its upgrade, namely the connection of 4 gas wells to the existing trunkline.

The upgrade of the existing Babócsa Gas Plant, involving the installation of the required gas treatment units, was also included in the scope of services.

ILF Consulting Engineers was recently commissioned by ÖBB Infrastruktur AG to provide planning and design input for the four-track upgrade of the western railway line for the Linz-Marchtrenk and Marchtrenk-Wels sections.

The upgrade of these sections makes it possible to increase the line capacity and is an important step in the four-track upgrade of the railway line between Vienna and Wels that forms part of the trans-European network for rail and intermodal transport.

The project is implemented step by step and started with the works for the section “Linz Main Station west site” in the autumn of 2018. The permitting processes for Linz–Marchtrenk (length approx. 15.7 km) and Marchtrenk–Wels (length approx. 6.4 km) are currently underway. Maximum speeds of up to 230 km/h shall be possible in both line sections. A speed of up to 160 km/h is planned for regional rail transport.

ILF has been entrusted with executing the detailed design in the planning phase of the project implementation of both sections.

ILF will be present at the IKOM 2019, organized by students of the Technical University Munich (Germany), and is looking forward to meeting interesting and interested students as well as young professionals.

The number of the ILF stand is 74. See you there!

The B.Robots Team of the “Höhere technische Bundeslehr- und Versuchsanstalt Graz-Gösting” (Austria) landed the vice world champion title in the robotics competition of the First Lego League (FLL) World Festival, held in Detroit from April 25th to 29th, 2019, by introducing its smart “dPro Bottle”. So far, no other Austrian team has succeeded in winning this title.

In addition, B.Robots took fifth place in the Robot Game in a field of 104 teams. This year more than 35,000 teams from around the word entered the FLL competition.

ILF congratulates the project team on this remarkable achievement and is proud of having been able to make a small contribution to this success.

To make the public more aware of the contribution traveling by rail makes to protecting our environment and reducing our carbon footprint, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) launched the Green Points initiative over two years ago.

As part of this initiative, people who use the ÖBB for business trips can collect green points, which are used to support specific environmental projects. By using the train for business trips, employees from ILF in Austria have cut down their CO2 emissions by 63.1 tons in the last year, being once again amongst some of the most frequent rail travelers in Austria. Compared to the previous year, this is a 17.5% increase in the number of train journeys.

ILF highly appreciates this ÖBB initiative, as the sustainable protection of the environment is of utmost importance to our company both when designing structures and facilities and when performing day-to-day project work. We strive to continue making a valuable contribution to ensuring sustainability in Austria by using ÖBB trains for business trips in years to come.

Another significant milestone for ILF in Georgia! Inspired by the “One ILF” principle, ILF-AUT, ILF-SUI and ILF-GEO combined their forces to beat the odds and win the contract for a pivotal project for the Tbilisi Suburban Rail Development.

The new project is definitely a landmark initiative in municipal rail transportation. It connects the eastern outskirts of Tbilisi, and the airport, with the city, which will greatly contribute to mobility within the capital of Georgia.

The key project-related data are as follows:

• award of contract: May 7, 2019
• project duration: 15 months
• contract value: EUR 3,500,000
• scope of services:

a. pre-feasibility study of the sections: a) Samgori–Airport–Lilo and b) Samgori–Rustavi
b. detailed design of Samgori–Airport–Lilo rail connection and supplementary infrastructure
c. assistance with IFIs
d. preparation of tender documents

The project comprises the design of a 13km-long railway alignment, railway superstructure, of civil construction, station buildings, electrification, signalling, control and communication systems, and of maintenance facilities.

It combines the re-activation of existing lines with some new alignments, following a resource-friendly approach.

The civil works are intended to be executed in accordance with the FIDIC Red Book, while the railway systems will fall under the FIDIC Yellow Book Conditions of Contract.

On May 14, 2019, “Die Presse” once again honoured successful Austrian family businesses and their achievements at a large gala event, held in Vienna for the 19th time. Herwig Langanger (“Presse” Chairman of the Executive Board), Margarete Schramböck (Austrian Minister of Economy and Digitilisation) and Georg Knill (Knill Gruppe in Weiz) commended the winning companies in front of around 200 guests from the business world.

We are happy to announce, that despite strong competition from a variety of different companies, ILF Consulting Engineers has been declared the Tyrolean winner.

More information and the full article about ILF can be found at:  https://diepresse.com/unternehmen/familienunternehmen/5627993/span-classpackageicon

During the 2019 Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, which was hosted and supported by the German Federal Government, the German Association of Consulting Engineers (VBI) published its Guide to Renewable Energy with various contributions from ILF Consulting Engineers.

The Guide to Renewable Energy shall provide policymakers, administrators and engineers with lessons from the German experience of the energy transition and shows a broad range of technologies that are suitable and vital for an energy transition. ILF is proud to have contributed to this important and seminal handbook with its experience in areas such as project setup & implementation, routing, bankable feasibility studies, hydroelectric power, gas networks, energy & gas storage as well as power transmission.

For further information please feel free to contact us at info.muc@ilf.com.  You can also find the VBI Guide to Renewable Energy here.

On April 25, 2019 The Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works of Iraq awarded ILF with the Project Development, Engineering and Site Supervision Services for the water supply project in the Basra Governorate.

The project includes a Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination Facility, the Water Transmission System to supply 11 cities including Basra City with additional drinking water and a power plant to provide the required electricity to operate the system.

The project is envisaged to be executed based on ILF’s proposed concept:

• 1,000,000 m3/day Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination Facility located at the Arabian Gulf in Fao;
• Approximately 270 km of Water Transmission Pipelines for the distribution of the desalinated water to the cities of the Basra Governorate;
• A Gas fired Power Plant to produce the required power for the Desalination Plant and Pumping Stations.

The project will be the first step of Iraq’s new water strategy and shall deliver additional drinking water within 4 years.

Television: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C64GUiNur8Q&fbclid=IwAR1lbm8stUdrg7CKgdJTv_wK_TfQ1ctP9DWmaV6rDhjyEZYU5nWaLWYem2E
Newspaper: https://www.almirbad.com/detail/11797
Social Media: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2331580963779434&id=1733314656939404&__tn__=%2As%2As-R

ILF will take part in the “International Trade Fair for Alpine Technologies” (Interalpin) held in Innsbruck from May 08 to 10, 2019.

You are most welcome to visit us at stand A04 in exhibition hall A (hall 1, Innsbruck Exhibition Centre – Austria) to learn about our competence and experience. Come and discuss with us how we can support your projects in the field of ski resort planning.

We are looking forward to your visit and to interesting questions and discussions. For further information, please visit the website at http://www.interalpin.at/.

ILF Consulting Engineers, which acts as the leader of the consortium ArgeSL 2019, and has already been involved in various stages of the SuedLink project, has now also been awarded the contract for the next phase of the SuedLink project, by TenneT and TransnetBW (Germany). Over the next 20 months, ArgeSL 2019, consisting of ILF and its partners Froelich & Sporbeck, as well as GfN, will be performing the services involved in the project phases §19+§20 NABEG, which involve, amongst others, the applications for planning approval, including rough routing, the technical planning as well as project management and environmental planning.

The SuedLink shall transport energy generated in wind parks in northern Germany to southern Germany, thereby serving major consumers in southern Germany via a HVDC underground cable. The SuedLink consists of two point-to-point connections, which will each have a transmission capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW), i.e. a total capacity of 4 GW. This capacity, which is roughly equivalent to the capacity of four nuclear power plants, will supply around 10 million households with electricity. As Germany’s largest infrastructure project to date, the SuedLink project sets new international standards, being the first project of its kind in the field of underground cables.

For further information please feel free to contact us at info.muc@ilf.com