COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Four Filipino expat engineers are involved in the largest metro construction project in Denmark over the last 400 years.

The Metro Cityringen (The City Circle Line) has 23 construction sites with 17 underground stations and 5 shafts with an average depth of 22-35 meters below surface level and 15.5 kilometers of tunnel in 2 lines.

Engineer Deovanni Miranda, 38, is the first Filipino expat who became part of the "Cityringen Project". He was headhunted by Salini Impregilo S.p.A, the largest Italian international construction company specializing in major complex infrastructure projects. He was offered the position of area supervisor and his main task was to lead the supervision of mechanical and electrical construction work in 17 underground stations. He was later promoted to mechanical and electrical construction coordinator.

“On large scale complex projects like this where we have more than 24 nationalities and several thousand people working, we look all over the world for the right competences and the expertise that we need. In this case, we were looking for special competencies and expertise and we are always willing to go to great lengths to attract specific employees to our project in order to directly give their contribution on a very important stage of our project, most especially in the Mechanical and Electrical Installation and Commissioning,” said Sigurd Nissen-Petersen, chief operating officer at the Copenhagen Metro Team I/S.

“It was not easy, there are many rules and regulations when you recruit citizens from outside the E.U., but we did that, and we are very happy that we did it. Our employees from the Philippines are competent, always positive and disciplined, always ready to collaborate in a very positive way, and we are extremely pleased having these guys in our project,” he added.

Prior to the assignment, Miranda, Mi-Sel Mortega and Ramel Ornales worked in the Middle East in other construction projects including the world’s largest desalination plant.

Engr. Rustan Jay Menta, who is considered as local, is a first-timer on the construction field but obtained the electrical and mechanical supervisor position. Menta was a service engineer in the marine and offshore industry for 10 years.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News Europe, Miranda said that the project is also feasible in the Philippines because it is not only about tunneling, but they also have a lot of state-of-the-art safety features for passengers and for the facility, most especially when it comes to flood control.

“The flood control of this project is actually isolating the potential area or the source of the main water that will come. This is an aid to the drainage system and tunnel pumping stations that collect water... because some of the metro stations were built along canal or lake areas,” Miranda said.

The Cityringen project started in 2011 and is scheduled to be finished by July 2019. The new metro line will double the number of passengers.

The construction of the new line will generate faster, sustainable travel and improve the traffic facility to cater to all tourists and residents of Copenhagen.

Driverless trains run by fully automated computer system built by Ansaldo STS and designed by Giugiaro Design of Italy called the “Ansaldo STS Driverless Metro” will power the system. It is owned by Metroselskabet, under the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and the Ministry of Transport.