Webuild led consortium to build part of a highway via the Carpathian Mountains in Romania in a project worth €1 billion

Webuild led consortium to build part of a highway via the Carpathian Mountains in Romania in a project worth €1 billion

• Highway crosses Carpathian Mountains for 37.4 kilometres
• Lot 3 is most complex in engineering terms
• Lot 3 includes 1.7-kilometre tunnel, 48 viaducts
• Contract to create more than 40,000 jobs

(PRESS RELEASE) MILAN, 13-May-2022 — /EuropaWire/ — Webuild, an Italian industrial group specialised in the construction and civil engineering, formerly Salini Impregilo, has announced that the company won, as part of a consortium, an infrastructure project worth €1 billion for the construction of a part of a highway via the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. The part of the highway, subject to this contract, is for Lot 3 of the Sibiu-Pitesti Highway in the country, which is considered the most complex part of the highway because it will cross the Carpathian Mountains between Cornetu and Tigveni for 37.4 kilometres, of which 12.5 kilometres will include bridges and viaducts, and a 1.7 kilometre long twin tunnel.

The awarding of the contract followed an international bidding process involving construction companies from Austria, Italy, Romania, Spain and Turkey. Emphasis was placed on expertise in the design and construction of complex tunnels as well as a solid financial position on the part of the builder. The construction of the lot will create more than 40,000 jobs.

Commissioned by Compagnia Nationala de Administrare a Infrastructurii Rutiere (CNAIR) on behalf of the Romania’s transport and infrastructure ministry, the work will be done by a consortium led by Webuild with a 90% stake. Local partner Tancrad will have 10%. The contract will be 85% financed by European Union funds and the remaining 15% by state funds.

Webuild is already working on Lot 5 of the Sibiu-Pitesti Highway, located 10 kilometres from Lot 3. Once the five sections under construction are completed, the Sibiu-Pitesti will be more than 122 kilometres long, connecting central and western Romania to Europe’s highway network as part of the Rhine-Danube Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

In addition to the tunnel, bridges and viaducts, Lot 3 includes the design and construction of more than 23 kilometres of a double-lane highway, two interchanges at Valeni and Cornetu, 18 kilometres of consolidation works, the construction of a maintenance and control centre, and work to preserve the environment. There will also be an animal crossing at Olt River. It will help reduce traffic congestion between Cornetu and Tigveni by proving an alternative route to national roads.

Webuild brings to the project a track record of more than 2,400 kilometres of tunnels and the construction of 80,300 kilometres roads and highways across the globe. It is working on other projects for the TEN-T. In Italy, it is developing 400 kilometres of railway on 16 strategic projects such as the Terzo Valico dei Giovi-Genoa Juncture, and high-speed/high-capacity rail lines between Naples and Bari.

Webuild, the new group born in 2020 from Salini Impregilo, is a leading global player in the construction of large, complex projects for sustainable mobility (rail, metro, bridges, roads, ports), clean hydro energy (hydropower dams), clean water (treatment and desalination plants, wastewater management, irrigation), green buildings (civil and industrial buildings, airports, stadiums, hospitals), supporting clients in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Group is the expression of 116 years of engineering experience applied in 50 countries with 80,000 direct and indirect employees from more than 100 nationalities. The Group’s expertise is displayed in projects such as the M4 metro line in Milan, Grand Paris Express, Cityringen in Copenhagen, Sydney Metro Northwest, Red Line North Underground in Doha, Line 3 of the Riyadh Metro and the high-speed railways in Italy. Other projects include the new Genoa Bridge and the new Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach, California, the expansion of the Panama Canal, the Snowy 2.0 hydroelectric power station in Australia, the Rogun hydroelectric dam in Tajikistan, the Anacostia River and Northeast Boundary tunnels in Washington, D.C. and the Al Bayt 2022 World Cup stadium in Qatar. At the end of December 2021, it had a total order backlog amounting to €45.4 billion, with 92% of the construction backlog relating to projects linked to the advancement of SDGs. Webuild, subject to direction and coordination by Salini Costruttori S.p.A., is headquartered in Italy and is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (Borsa Italiana: WBD; Reuters: WBD.MI; Bloomberg: WBD:IM).

Investor Relations

Amarilda Karaj
Tel +39 02 444 22476
email: a.karaj@webuildgroup.com

Media Relations

Gilles Castonguay
Tel. +39 342 682 6321
email: gr.castonguay@webuildgroup.com

SOURCE: Webuild