Italy’s Salini wins $720m high-speed rail contract

A consortium led by contractor Salini Impregilo is to construct the third phase of a high-speed rail line in northern Italy. This element of the work, which includes the completion of the Valico tunnel, is worth $720m. When complete, the line will be 53km long, and will include 37km of tunnels. 

The project is part of the Terzo Valico line, which is intended to improve connections between Ligurian ports such as Genoa in north-west Italy with the rest of the country. The project is part of the strategic Rhine-Alpine Corridor, one of the EU’s trans-European networks. 

The consortium that is designing and building the line is called COCIV. It is made up of Salini, which holds a 64% stake, engineer Società Italiana Condotte d’Acqua, which owns 31%, and the consultant Collegamenti Integrati Veloci, which holds 5%. 

The total value of the line is $7.3bn, broken down into six construction phases. Work will begin on the third package by the end of June this year. 

Last year, Salini and Strabag won a $410m contract to build a tunnel under the Isarco River in the southern Alps.