ITALIAN infrastructure manager RFI has awarded a consortium led by Webuild a contract worth €934m to build a 13km largely underground bypass in Trento, south of the Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT). The contract for Lot 3A was awarded as part of widening the Fortezza - Verona high-speed line to four tracks.
Webuild, which has a 51% stake in the consortium, will lead the design and construction of the line. Ghella has a 35% stake and Collini a 10% stake, with Webuild subsidiary Seli holding the remaining 4% The contract will directly and indirectly create 1000 jobs.
Lot 3A has been identified as a strategic project for the development of sustainable mobility in Italy under the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (PNRR). The line forms part of the strategic Munich - Verona corridor, as well as a broader programme to upgrade transport services in Trento. The bypass is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by over 65,000 tonnes a year.
The contract includes the construction of an 10.6km tunnel and two short sections above ground alongside the existing line. Four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will be deployed to excavate the tunnel, working from either end.
The Trento bypass will form part of the southern access route to the BBT, where Webuild is working on three of the five tunnelling lots.
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