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Bilfin
g
er Ber
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Magazine
8
Egypt
Major dam projecton the Nile
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20
Switzerland
The greatestscientific experimentof all time
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26
Germany
Exposed to the elements
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32
France
Battling againstthe power of the Alps
01
2007
How they shape our lives and how we use them to improve the way we live.
Bilfinger Berger Magazine //
01
2007
//
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\\ IMPRINT
IN THE FUTURE,SEVEN GATES,EACH WEIGHING
160
TONS,WILL STEM THE NILE AT NAGA HAMMADI.SOME
3,000
SQUARE KILOMETERS OF DESERT WILLBECOME FERTILE FIELDS.
WE SHAPE OUR ENVIRONMENT— AND SHARE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT
The ancientEgyptians worshiped the Nile as a god.Thedead could only reach the afterlife by taking to its waters.Even time itself was counted in Nile years:the year beganwith the startof the flood—every 365 days.To this day,the Nile remains the lifeblood of Egypt:a to-tal of 97 percentof the population live in its valley.Thenew retaining weir builtby Bilfinger Berger atNaga Ham-madi will deliver water further into the country’s interiorand improve the lives of countless people.To carry outthework,Bilfinger Berger had to divertthe ancientriver fromits thousand-year-old bed—an endeavor thatinvolvedmore or less equal parts of ingenuity and impudence,asauthor Philipp Maußhardtdescribes.Other articles in thisissue also tell of the struggles between man and nature:the inhabitants of a tiny North Friesian island who defythe North Sea,engineers who are overcoming one of themostgeologically challenging areas of the Alps and re-searchers atCERN in Geneva,who hope to replicate theBig Bang.
Mankind is reshaping the world in order to make betteruse of it.In many areas,Bilfinger Berger is contributing tothe sustained alteration of our habitat,fully aware
of thespecial responsibility this implies.Itis a responsibilitythatwe,together with our clients,have embraced.
KENNETH REID
Member of the Executive Board of Bilfinger Berger AG
Bilfinger Berger Magazine
www.magazine.bilfinger.com
Published by
Bilfinger Berger AGCarl-Reiss-Platz 1–568165 MannheimGermanyTel.+ 49 (0) 621 4590Fax + 49 (0) 621 459-2366www.bilfinger.com
Editorial director:
Michael Weber
Projectmanagement:
Dr.Daniela Simpson
Editing:
Dr.Daniela Simpson;Bernd Hauser,agentur.zs,Weinstadt
Photo editing:
Paul Lampe,Uli Reinhardt,agentur.zs
Cover photograph:
Suk-Heui Park/Getty Images
Design and layout:
Theo Nonnen,Steven Dohn,Bohm und Nonnen,Darmstadt
Litho:
Goldbeck Art,Frankfurtam Main
Printing:
ColorDruck,Leimen
Translation:
Baker & Harrison,Munichand Bruce MacPherson,Wiesbaden
Circulation coordination:
BusinessService Weber,Mannheim
Bilfinger Berger Magazine is publishedin German and English.All rights are reserved.Items by namedcontributors do notnecessarily reflectthe opinions of the publisher.Thereprinting or electronic distribution of articles or excerpts of articles is pro-hibited withoutthe express permissionof the publisher.Bilfinger Berger Magazine is printedon FSC certified paper.
//
54
\\ CONTENTS
shovels break,workmen fall fromscaffolding.Developers and localauthorities call on Erla Stefánsdóttirto mediate—for she can see thesespirits of nature and negotiate withthem.An interview.
20
what holds the worldtogether
To know whatholds the worldtogether is the burning desire of Goethe’s Faust.The elite of thephysics world are hopeful thatthegreatestscientific experimentof alltime will bring them closer to theanswer.The nuclear research centerCERN in Geneva is simulating theBig Bang.
25
it’s a man’s world
As a passionate driver of excavators,author Philipp Maußhardtpits hispropensity for violence againstthepower of nature.A commenton themale condition.
42
power of water
100 years have passed since the firstlarge hydroelectric plants were builton the Rhine between Schaffhausenand Basel.A journey back in time.
43
eon invests inhydroelectric power
Bilfinger Berger is updating a70-year-old pump-fed power stationin the town of Waldeck.
44
photo report:palaces of ice
Extreme photographer Carsten Peterexplores glaciers from the inside.Each year the meltwater carvesnew caverns in the ice.
50
roads of the world:the via mala
In Graubünden,Switzerland,theHinter Rhine has gouged a breath-taking chasm in the rock.The pas-sage here is called the “Via Mala,”meaning the “evil road.”
/// NEWS
48
bridge in vietnam
Two-kilometer long cable-stayedstructure for Ho Chi Minh City.
boom in australia
Major orders for road building aswell as a pipeline and pumpingstations.
ppp in canada
Contractawarded for the CalgaryRing Road:the third major transportprojectin western Canada.
49
i.volution in germany
New Lufthansa training center justoutside Frankfurt.
billion euro order in qatar
Bilfinger Berger is building a newsuburb in Doha to house 20,000.
new board member
Kenneth Reid appointed to theExecutive Board atBilfinger Berger.
26
nothing but wind and waves
The island of Nordstrandischmooroff the coastof North Friesia is hometo 18 souls.The sea regularly cutsthem off from the outside world.
32
mountainous struggle
The shaftatSaint-Martin-de-la-Porte
is the firststage in the constructionof a base tunnel between Lyon andTurin.Man and machine are fight-ing the elemental forces of the Alps.
38
boom in liquefied gas
Natural gas has become a hugelyimportantsource of energy,secondonly to oil.Bilfinger Berger isinvolved in major LNG projectsin Europe and Africa.
40innovation stimulatesthe economy
The trend towards clean energy iscranking up investment.BilfingerBerger is in demand as a partner inresearching and implementing newtechnology.
32
01
2007
Bilfinger Berger Magazine
2
Imprint
3
Editorial
4
Contents
6
Kaleidoscope
8
water and power for thepeople of the nile valley
In principle,Egypt’s problems havenotchanged since the time of thePharaohs:noteven a blade of grasswill grow withoutirrigation.Now,Bilfinger Berger has builta retain-ing weir on the Nile thatwill makethe desertfertile and supply cleanelectric power to the country’sburgeoning population.
18
the spirits of natureare everywhere
There are few in Iceland who doubtthe existence of elves and trolls.When construction work disturbsthem,the spirits retaliate:excavator
TUNNELING IN THE ALPS
20
NUCLEAR RESEARCH
26
LIFE ON THE ISLAND
18 42
ICELAND,LAND OF THE ELVESTHE POWER OF WATER
COVER STORY///
FORCES OF NATURE
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