A massive tunnel drilling machine is en route to New Zealand to bore the Waterview motorway tunnels in Auckland.
AAP reports the $NZ55 million machine left Guangzhou in China on Wednesday and is due to arrive in 2½ weeks.
The drill is designed specifically for the geology there. The machine is 87 metres long, and the cutting head and shield are as high as a four-storey building.
Because of its size, AAP reports the machine is in nearly 100 pieces and will take three months to reassemble.
It was purpose built to bore the twin 2.4km-long Waterview motorway tunnels, which will connect the Auckland airport highway with the northwestern motorway.
