Webuild is the senior partner in a 70/30 joint venture with Impreza Pizzarotti to build the remaining two sections (Hirpinia-Orsara and Orsara-Bovino) of the Naples to Bari high-speed line. The two projects total 40km of new railway.
The same JV is also building the first two sections of the new Messina to Catania railway line on the island of Sicily. The Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni and Giampilieri-Taormina sections together comprise 43km of line.
The client for all four contracts is Rete Ferroviaria Italia (RFI), owner of Italy's railway network and a subsidiary of state-owned holding company Ferrovie dello Stato. Altogether, the four contracts are valued at more than €3 billion (£2.53 billion).
The Hirpinia-Orsara section comprises 28km of line, nearly all of which (27km) will be in tunnels. The Orsara-Bovino section involves the excavation of a twin-tube railway tunnel of about 10km and an additional 2km of line.
The 28.3km Taormina-Giampilieri section is also mostly in tunnels. Webuild will use three tunnel boring machines to excavate 25.2 kilometres of tunnel on this section. It will also build seven viaducts and two new railway stations.
The 15km-long Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni section will involve construction of two tunnels and two viaducts. The two sections are part of the Palermo-Catania-Messina railway upgrading project which aims to speed up Sicily’s rail connections and improve the accessibility of the island.
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