Contracts awarded to build more high-speed rail lines in Italy

Webuild – a global leader in the design and construction of large, complex projects – and its consortium partners Ghella and Impresa Pizzarotti, have won two contracts for a combined value of more than €3.7 billion for the further development of sustainable mobility in southern Italy.

As leader of the consortium, Webuild has won a contract worth more than €2.0 billion to build a section of a new high-speed railway along the Salerno-Reggio Calabria axis: Lot 1A between Battipaglia and Romagnano. The second contract worth €1.65 billion is for the construction of Lot 3 between Lercara and Caltanissetta Xirbi for the railway between Palermo and Catania.

Both contracts are commissioned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) of the FS Italiane Group and financed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR in Italian). Webuild will lead the consortium involved in the two contracts with a 60% stake, with Ghella having 20% and Impresa Pizzarotti 20%.

With these two contracts, Webuild reaches €13.7 billion in new orders that are acquired or in the phase of being finalised since the start of 2023. The total includes €3.5 billion worth of projects for which Webuild has been identified as having the best offer. Most of the orders are from low-risk markets, including Italy, Europe, Australia and the United States.

The contracts confirm the role played by Webuild and the supply chain for the development and growth of Italy, putting at the country’s service technical and engineering excellence focused on innovation and the application of advanced technology.

The contracts bring to 19 the number of projects on which Webuild is working in southern Italy, involving more than 3,800 suppliers. The projects are strategic for sustainable mobility in Italy – also within the framework of energy transition – that will better connect the northern and southern regions of Italy. They will support the country’s development and growth, improving its competitiveness.

Lot 1A of the Salerno-Reggio Calabria axis

This axis involves the design and construction of 35km of rail, along which trains will travel at speeds of up to 300km/h. It includes the construction of approximately 14km of tunnels to be excavated also by tunnel-boring machine (TBM), more than 6km of viaducts and nearly 5km of artificial tunnels. There will also be a juncture built at Romagnano to connect the new line with the existing one that runs from Battipaglia to Metaponto and Potenza. The contract is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs.

Lot 3 Lercara-Caltanissetta Xirbi in Sicily

This sections concerns the development of 47km of new rail, as well as the construction of more than 22km of tunnels including interconnections, excavated also by tunnel boring machine. There will also be 11km of viaducts, 32km of roadwork and the renovation of the Vallelunga station. An estimated 1,500 jobs are to be created, directly and indirectly. Webuild is working
on five other lots along the new railway that will connect Palermo, Catania and Messina, involving more than 580 direct suppliers from the start of works, half of which are from the region. These lots are the Bicocca-Catenanuova, Nuova Enna-Dittaino and Caltanissetta Xirbi-Nuova Enna between Palermo and Catania; and the Taormina-Giampilieri and Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni between Catania and Messina.