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MT. BLANC TUNNEL REOPENS TO
TRUCKS AND HEAVY VEHICLES
The tunnel of Mount Blanc reopened today to truck traffic. It will be a gradual reopening, beginning with vehicles up to a maximum weight of 19 tons. On May 13, traffic will open to heavier vehicles, excluding trailer trucks. Weight restrictions will be lifted on June 25, though the ban on the transport of dangerous or polluting substances will remain in place. The mayor of Chamonix predicted that a very tense situation would result in response to the agreement signed by the French and Italian governments, and has presented an appeal to the French Administrative Supreme Court. While conceding that a limit of 19 tons is reasonable, ecologists are opposed to the presence of heavy trucks in a tunnel with a grade of incline of 700 meters in 17 kilometers. ITALY SUPPLIES PUMPS FOR WORLD'S LARGEST IRRIGATION PLANT The world's largest water pumping and irrigation plant, valued at 200 million euros, is being built in the desert area of Gujart, India, with the collaboration of the Termomeccanica Pompe Spa company of La Spezia in Italy. The Italian company's partner in the project is the Indian company Kirloskar Brother Ltd. Termomeccanica Pompe will supply 26 large water pumps, each with a pumping capacity of 72,000 cubic meters per hour at 4,500 kilowatts, for a total cost of 12 million euros. The irrigation facility has been commissioned by Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. The first phase of construction, already underway, involves the installation of five pumping stations with a distribution network covering a total of 66, 000 kilometers. This will provide irrigation and drinking water for 1.8 million hectares of land, 135 urban centers, 8,000 villages, and roughly 18 million people. Over the next few decades, two other phases of the project will come to serve 42 million people and help combat persistent drought. |
