The next World Tunnel Congress (WTC) will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 15 to 21 May 2020. Taking place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), it will incorporate lectures, technical sessions, various committee and working group meetings, site and technical visits, and brief excursions, among others.
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) is expected to welcome more than 2,000 participants to the event - which will be accompanied by an exhibition featuring more than 200 participating companies from all over the world.
“The preparations for the World Tunnel Congress and 46th ITA General Assembly 2020 in Kuala Lumpur are in full swing. Registration should be made as soon as possible, due to the early bird chance (before 1 December 2019) and the high demand,” said Ir. Dr. Teik Aun Ooi, organising chairman of WTC2020.
The event will start with an ITACET training course, targeted at young tunnellers and those who are interested in tunnelling and underground space developments. Global tunnelling experts will be sharing their experiences. More than 15 technical presentations under the topic of ‘Innovations in Tunnelling - Geotechnical Engineering and Project Management’ will provide insights into five different main fields of tunnelling and underground space on Friday and Saturday (15 and 16 May). The first part of the General Assembly and some working group meetings will take place on Sunday (17 May), and the congress welcome reception will start in the evening.
The congress and the opening ceremony with both Muir Wood and keynote lectures are scheduled for Monday morning (18 May). The exhibition will also kick-off on the same morning. Technical sessions, presentations, committee meetings and networking with fellow participants, exhibitors and business partners will fulfil the days until the second part of the General Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, with the closing ceremony as the finale of the WTC2020 event and followed with the handover of the ITA flag to the next host country Denmark for WTC2021.
Several site and technical visits will also be organised during and after the congress, including SMART Tunnel (18 May), Tunnelling Training Academy (19 May) and Underground works at both KVMRT Line 2 and Line 3 (20 May). In addition, on Thursday (21 May) limited participants will have a chance to book a technical visit to either the ongoing East Coast Rail Link or the completed Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer Tunnel.
