Fluor led Infraspeed’s efforts to arrange private financing for the rail concession for the duration of construction. Fluor and the Infraspeed partners also provided US$90 million of equity.
As the program manager on this project, Fluor was responsible for the day-to-day management and coordination of the design-build work for the superstructure along with HSL alignment. Fluor also spearheaded the interface management effort, one of the most demanding and challenging efforts of the project. The company developed joint agreements with state agencies, local municipalities, and commercial power suppliers.
Project and interface management activities included establishing site-specific agreements with each group and organization involved in permitting the design and construction. Interface efforts included establishing communication with local municipal and state agencies as well as the banks involved with the project, extending to the banks’ technical and legal advisors. Approvals were obtained from all these groups without any delay in the design and construction schedule.
A quality management program was established to oversee 15 design-build organizations and establish procedures and standards, conduct quality inspections, and indicate acceptance of construction work. The HSL-Zuid project attained ISO 9001:2000 Certification.
The Fluor-led consortium safely delivered to the Dutch government its first high-speed rail system connecting Amsterdam with the Belgium border on time and to the highest standard.
Fluor’s financial strength and program management capabilities were major factors in securing private financing from a consortium of banks. Fluor also led the interface management effort among state agencies, local municipalities, other contractors, and commercial power suppliers to ensure that the schedule was met.
New technologies applied on the HSL project included the Rheda Balastless Track System and ETCS Level 2 Signaling System.