Webuild, 1.2 billion contract with FS for the Palermo-Catania-Corriere.it railway line

Webuild consortium awarded a new contract in Sicily for a total value of 1.2 billion for the upgrading of the high-capacity railway on the Palermo-Catania line. The subject of the award is Lot 4A Caltanissetta Xirbi-New Enna, commissioned by Rfi (FS Italiane Group) and included in the Pnrr, which provides for the executive design and construction of 27 km of new railway line. Webuild will lead, with a total share of 75%, the consortium with Ghella (share of 25%).

The works on the Palermo-Catania-Messina line

With this new contract, Webuild is building five lots in the broader program to strengthen the Palermo-Catania-Messina line, for a total contract value of approximately 3.6 billion euro. In fact, the Bicocca-Catenanuova and Nuova Enna-Dittaino sections on the Palermo-Catania line, and the Taormina-Giampilieri and Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni lots on the Messina-Catania line are added to Lot 4A. For the construction of these five lots it is estimated that up to 4,300 jobs will be created, including direct and third-party personnel, with the involvement of more than 580 direct suppliers from the start of the works to date, 50% from Southern Italy and the islands.

Reduced times on the director

The Palermo-Catania-Messina line is a strategic project for Sicily and Italy and of European value, as it is part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the TEN-T transport network, and will contribute to reducing travel times between Catania and Palermo at 2 hours (60′ less than today). Lot 4A, the layout of which will mostly develop in a variant with respect to the historical line, includes the construction of 20km of tunnels, of which approximately 90% excavated with the use of giant mechanical milling machines, the Tunnel Boring Machines, to which are added 3 km of viaducts. The works will be carried out by Webuild (lead partner) with SELI Overseas (Webuild Group), Ghella and TunnelPro (Ghella Group). With the new contract, Webuild is carrying out 17 projects in Southern Italy, including the islands, with the involvement of a supply chain of over 3,800 suppliers since the start of the works. Projects, including the four lots of the Naples-Bari high-speed/high-capacity railway, which make Webuild’s commitment in Southern Italy increasingly strategic for the development of sustainable mobility in line with the country’s broader energy transition process .