Namur residents will remember the first cable car installed in 1956 that took them to the top of the citadel up until 1997. Namur'snew gondola takes a different route today, rising over the Sambre and linking the city centre from Maurice Servais Square to the upper station on the Citadel's Esplanade, a stone's throw from the Digital Pavilion, a legacy from the Milan World Expo.

The gondola is both a useful link and an environmental plus, offering an alternative traffic route in the Walloon capital.

Designed to blend in with the urban landscape, the gondola's contemporary architecture respects this unique site. The two stations, built from Namur's typical red brick, blend discreetly with the surroundings. The technical parts of the gondola are well camouflaged and the ingenious design of the transparent glass surfaces allows perfect integration with the surrounding buildings. Careful attention has been paid to the installation of the towers. Of the four on the line, only one is obviously visible, the others merging discretely with the Terra Nova trees.

The designers were also careful to minimise the noise levels of the drive station. To reduce energy usage, the Diamond cabins are equipped with solar panels that power interior and exterior LED lighting.

The work site keeps moving forward with the achievement of several crucial steps. By the end of 2020, the municipal association CINOR (Communauté intercommunale Du Nord de la Réunion) and the FILAO-Group (Atelier Architectes, POMA and Egis) had completed the earthworks, the towers foundations' concrete work and a part of the assembly. To date, 42 towers have been installed out of the 42 planned and the 5 stations along the ride have been delivered.

Currently, the teams finalize the adjustments on the stations. As for the vehicles, in April, 46 cabins have been delivered on site and are now being assembled in the garage for their upcoming installation on the cable.

At the beginning of June, assisted by a drone, the teams will unwind the first cable between the towers. An unprecedented operation in our profession that our COMAG technicians master perfectly. Indeed, they have recently carried out the same intervention in the future Toulouse urban cable car project.

After the splicing that will complete the unwinding process, cabins can finally be hung on the cable, thereby giving to the locals an accurate idea of the final appearance of the future urban mobility system. Besides the system's technical and safety adjustments, the coming months will mainly be focused on the development of the areas around the stations. Constructions of park-and-ride facilities at Bancoul and Bois de Nèfles stations are planned as well as pedestrian walkways and the implementation of safety equipments in and around the stations. Le Chaudron bus station will also be redeveloped to fit the new adjustments. Thus, the commissioning of Saint-Denis de La Reunion gondola lift, planned for the second half of 2021, will offer a sustainable and multimodal transport solution to its users.

At the beginning of 2019, Hyundai Engineering & Construction awarded leading ropeway transportation company, POMA, the EPCI contract* to provide the 48 capsules for the world's newest and biggest observation wheel “Ain Dubai”.
POMA has been designing and building largescale projects in the Entertainment sector for many years. A project of this scale calls for the highest levels of technological expertise, combined with unparalleled know-how.

Forty-eight outsized and completely original capsules, each able to accommodate up to 40 people, were designed, built and installed in a record time of less than 24 months.

Innovating and designing exactly the right engineering solutions while guaranteeing safety, efficiency and cost-effectiveness, is part of POMA's DNA.

The Group has, in particular, fine-tuned its engineering expertise and its unique technical prowess in the sector through involvement in the delivery of numerous special projects:

• Big observation wheels in London with the London Eye and in Las Vegas with the High Roller
• Other complex projects, in particular the incredible British Airways i360 observation tower in Brighton…
• Regular provision of capsules for smaller observation wheels: Baku, Chicago, Hong Kong…

As well as mastering the technology to successfully complete complex projects, POMA benefits from an agile organization enabling close joint-construction with the customer or managing the Group's multicultural and multi-expert teams and its subcontractors, who, for the “Ain Dubai” project, were coordinated from France but based in seven countries on four different continents.

The design and manufacture of the 48 capsules for “Ain Dubai” was a fast track project, carried out in under two years. This project clearly demonstrates the French Group's ability to export its services, tackle innovative projects and handle tight deadlines.

Confronted by the uncertainty of the health crisis, POMA's teams had to adapt almost continuously to deliver the 48 capsules and limit the impact on the construction site to a minimum.

At the beginning of 2019, Hyundai Engineering & Construction awarded leading ropeway transportation company, POMA, the EPCI contract* to provide the 48 capsules for the world's newest and biggest observation wheel “Ain Dubai”.
POMA has been designing and building largescale projects in the Entertainment sector for many years. A project of this scale calls for the highest levels of technological expertise, combined with unparalleled know-how.

Forty-eight outsized and completely original capsules, each able to accommodate up to 40 people, were designed, built and installed in a record time of less than 24 months.

In a city featuring major obstacles (notably, the Tuul-Gol river and the Trans-Mongolian Railway), and with a relatively undeveloped transport network, this urban cable car system emerges as the most appropriate solution. With its silent, all-electric and low energy operation, ropeway transport is today an acknowledged and sustainable urban transport mode, capable of addressing specific problems of cities and with the added benefit of being quicker to implement than other forms of transport infrastructure.

The French Directorate General of the Treasury (DG Trésor), which supports French firms in the delivery of structurally transformational, eco-friendly and sustainable projects, therefore decided to finance this urban mobility project developed by the company POMA with the support of EGIS, for the benefit of Ulaanbaatar city council. A financial protocol was signed in May 2020 followed by commercial agreements in June 2020.
The line extending 6 km will have 3 stations, with 122 cable cars running between the Ger districts north of the city and the city centre. This corridor is in full alignment with the development programmes currently underway, as this Ger district was targeted as a priority for the redevelopment and densification programme financed by the ADB. (Asian Development Bank)

POMA, the leader of the consortium behind the project, will be tasked with the supply and installation of the transport systems including all the vehicles, towers, and equipment of the 3 stations.
EGIS will be responsible for the design and construction of the stations and their foundations under a turnkey arrangement. The low and high voltage power also fall within EGIS' assignments. Finally,
EGIS will be tasked with coordination and combined drawings during design phase and with works supervision during construction.

This new transport project is the fourth joint collaboration for EGIS and POMA.

It demonstrates their shared motivation for the development of this ecological and cost efficient mode of transport, and the complementary strengths of two French industries: a manufacturer and an engineering firm working in concert on domestic projects such as the Grenoble cable car project, but also worldwide.