Caracas Metro’s Line 4 work site has been shut since the 2 December 2002, due to the nationwide general strike that has crippled the oil-rich South American nation of Venezuela.
In a recent development, the contractor, Constructora Norberto Odebrecht of Brazil, has pulled out personnel and equipment, effectively walking away from the project. However, it is expected that all infrastructure will be left in place, allowing them to continue work when some stability has returned to the country.
It is likely that a return to work by the contractor would have to be accompanied by a renegotiation of terms due to the recent devaluation of the country’s currency.
The fate of the two 5.8m diameter Herrenknecht EPBMs (S186 and S187) also remains uncertain. The machines were struggling through bad ground of unforeseen river sands at the start of the strike and have not moved since. S186 and S187 broke through their first 610m sections of the metro in May and September 2002, before continuing on the remaining 1.1km drives.
