Candidates line up to host WTC 2023

Following its official application to host the global tunnelling sector’s premier event, the GTS says it is “well prepared and committed” to organise a successful and memorable WTC. If successful, it would be the first time the event has been held in Greece.

Greece’s gradual recovery from the economic crisis has seen a resurgence of tunnel construction over the past five years. Some 65km of single-tube motorway tunnels and 20km of deep metro tunnels have been completed, including 24 stations nearing completion on new metro lines in Athens and Thessaloniki. Other underground projects are due to start shortly.
More information about the Athens bid can be found at https://athenswtc2023.gr/

Another bid has come from the Turkish Roads Association. It is proposing the southern city of Antalya as a potential venue for the event, saying that the city “offers an abundance of cultural and historical interests and enjoys direct flights from most European cities”. Turkey previously hosted the event in 2005. Recently completed projects in the country include the sub-Bosporus Marmaray tunnel and a host of metro tunnels in Istanbul and elsewhere. Further details about the Antalya bid can be found at http://www.wtc2023turkey.org/preface.html

The successful bidder is to be decided by a vote of ITA member nations during WTC 2020 which will be held on 11-17 September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Further details can be found at https://www.wtc2020.my/