ROMÂNIA: Sotirios Koropoulis, in charge with the longest railway tunnels in Romania

Sotirios Koropoulis in one of the rare moments of don’t-think-about-tunnels.

Across the Olt River from Racoș commune in Brașov county and several kilometres away, the Greek constructor AKTOR is drilling two pairs of twin tunnels in the hills of the area for the Apața-Cața section of the Brașov – Sighisoara railway. It is a first-of-its-kind project in Romania, totalling 24 kilometres of tunnel.

Sotirios Koropoulis leads the multinational team that operates the four tunnel boring machines, and it is not an easy job at all.

The previous biggest work he coordinated was a 10.2 km long tunnel under the sea in Qatar in totally different geological conditions.

Sotirios says he never thought he would build tunnels while studying construction, but he later discovered during his career that this is what he likes and what suits him, and this is why he followed this pattern in his career. His first job as an engineer was with the Athens Metro, actually.

Now he is responsible for everything in the two constructions sites where the two pairs of twin tunnels are dug, near the Racoș commune in Brașov county.

“For sure, the most important thing to do is the correct planning, and then procure and do the execution. Always in construction you know that you will find challenges in front of you, due different conditions”, says Sotirios, whose primarily job is to be with his team, support and push them to fulfil the objectives and meet the deadlines which are very strict. “It’s a daily work, with two sites also, day and night, we make it a little bit mor difficult than any normal engineering project that I have find already past in my career”, he explains.

Talk to people, let people talk to you. Management with a human touch.

Half of his job is constructions-related, the other half is management, and this makes him say “We are very well organized, and that’s why we have very good results up to now”.

Keeping the teams motivated requires being very close to them. “It’s not an easy job, when you get inside the tunnel, you forget anything, you forget who you are, where is your family, what is the problem you are facing, or your family, because this is teamwork and is not going to be successful if even one of us has his mind somewhere else”, says Sotirios Koropoulis.

He is in charge of a multi-national, multi-cultural team, which consists of Romanians, Greeks, Turks, and others: “Imagine that we have brough locals from abroad to work in this project, that emphasizes that we are looking to work with Romanian people, but because we have some special staff that we need, we are going outside Europe, we have people from Turkey, from India, even from Philippines”.

Current railway thread just across a road from future entrance in the northern pair of tunnels

You can already see on the ground where the Brașov – Sighisoara train will pass, in this area, when the project will be ready, and travellers will cross the longest railway tunnels in Romania.

You can watch Sotirios Koropoulis explaining the project in this video.

The project director role in infrastructure construction, particularly in tunnelling and Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) operations, is critical in overseeing and managing complex projects from inception to completion. It involves a wide range of responsibilities that ensure the successful delivery of tunnelling projects within budget, on time, and to the required quality standards.
Managing relationships with clients, joint venture partners, consultants, and supply chains represents a crucial part of the role.
Typically, a project director in this field has 10-20 years of relevant experience in TBM tunnelling projects. Experience in managing large-scale infrastructure projects and working with diverse stakeholders is essential.
Besides, strong leadership, communication, and decision-making skills are necessary to effectively manage project teams and stakeholder relationships.