Panama and its capital Panama City have seen a strong growth in population over the past years. This means that the requirements regarding transport infrastructure as well as supply and disposal systems have also grown. The central government and the local authorities initiated the construction of a new sewage pipeline and a modern treatment plant in Panama City. Thus, drainage of untreated sewage into rivers and creeks will be stopped and the environment protected.

An EPB Shield (Ø 3,000mm) from Herrenknecht excavated an eight-kilometer-long section of a large sewage collector. As the first EPB Shield ever used in Panama, "Gloria's" tunnelling performance achieved peak rates of up to 146 segment rings per week. The segment moulds used to produce the segments were supplied by Herrenknecht Formwork GmbH.

The tunnelling work directly below Panama City's streets with an extreme 90-degree curve at depths of down to 25 meters is attracting a great deal of attention in the media. And Gloria has been doing credit to her name since the beginning of the tunnel work on the sewage collector - especially since her first breakthrough on May 31, 2012.