At an estimated total cost of US$7.6 billion and spanning over 2,190km, the railway will connect Tanzania with landlocked neighbours Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Carrying out geotechnical investigation along the proposed viaduct structure, the two rigs are involved in a drilling programme of 2,000m over 50 boreholes along the viaduct. Coming up to the halfway point of the project, the Dual Mast Terrier has been conventional coring to depths of 35m with standard penetration tests (SPTs) at 1.5m intervals, while the Multitec 4000 MK3 has been drilling 40m boreholes with Geobor S with SPT at every 1.5m.

The customer chose the Dando rigs for their powerful performance and versatility, allowing the user to carry out various drilling and sampling techniques from a single unit. The crawler-mounted design and small footprint of the Multitec 4000 and Dual Mast Terrier also allows the customer to drill in areas of rough, uneven terrain where access can be restrictive.

The customer is a multidisciplinary firm that provides consultancy services for multiple sectors including energy and building, highway and transportation engineering, bridge and structural engineering, water supply and sanitation, environment and social impact assessment, oil and gas, and geotechnical and materials testing.