Excavations start on Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni Lot 1 section of Catania-Messina route

Webuild CEO Pietro Salini: “Building infrastructure to write the future of Sicily and southern Italy” 

• A new development in high-capacity rail infrastructure along the Palermo-Catania-Messina route, of which the Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni section is a part

• The rail line, partly financed with PNRR funds, is strategic for connections and sustainable mobility on the island

• An estimated 3,100 jobs, direct and indirect, created for the construction of four sections by Webuild along the Palermo-Messina-Catania route

TAORMINA, Italy, March 23, 2023 – Excavation work has begun at Webuild’s construction sites for the Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni section of the Palermo-Catania-Messina high-capacity railway under development in Sicily. The project aims to improve the speed and sustainability of the transport of passengers and cargo in Sicily and connect the island to the Scandinavia-Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). It is offering a new opportunity for the economic development of southern Italy, creating jobs along the entire supply chain. Among the participants at the ceremony were Matteo Salvini, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Renato Schifani, President of Region of Sicily, Filippo Palazzo, extraordinary commissioner of the project, Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato Chief Executive Luigi Ferraris, and Webuild Chief Executive Pietro Salini.

“I see at this construction site today young people, as well as faces that I have seen before on our construction sites in northern Italy such as the Terzo Valico (dei Giovi) and the Brenner (Base Tunnel), Sicilians and people from Calabria who finally have work in their home region,” said Salini. “We have planned right here in Sicily a very modern and automated factory for precast concrete segments, an example to the world. And with FS Group (Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato), we have the idea of setting up a plant for the reuse of TBMs that would make the most of our technological expertise that is unique in the world. Today, Webuild is the biggest tunnelling operator with 32 TBMs and we are to buy another 60. I would like this region to become a place where to make them new again, or even build them. We need to give young people not only a means of transport, but, above all, hope and a future for their own children. The challenge to connect Sicily and Calabria with a bridge over the Strait of Messina is a historic shift that gives young people a different prospect. We are a company within the national system, with the state’ participation through CDP (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti) in our capital. We have already done one of the longest bridges in the world, and we are offering our expertise to realise this dream to connect a very important region.”

The new Palermo-Catania-Messina railway, partially financed with funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR in Italian), will reduce by one hour the travel time between Palermo and Catania to two hours, and by 30 minutes to 45 minutes between Messina and Catania. On Lot 1 of the Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni section, 15.4 kilometres of the line will be doubled, including the connection to the station at Letojanni. Of this total distance, 11 kilometres will be in tunnels to be excavated in part by two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs). Lot 1 will include the construction of the Taormina station, two other stops, new viaducts with one crossing the Alcantara Valley at 928 metres in length and an arch span of 120 metres.

Along the Catania-Messina part of the line, Webuild is also working on a lot for the Taormina-Giampilieri section, while on the Palermo-Catania part it is working on the Bicocca-Catenanuova section, which was recently extended to include Nuova Enna-Dittaino. On these lots alone, an estimated 3,100 direct and indirect jobs are to be created, 1,900 of which for the two Catania-Messina lots. At the moment, these sections already have created more than 800 jobs, direct and indirect, with the involvement of more than 580 suppliers who have been involved since the start of works. Half of these suppliers are based in southern Italy and the islands. The sections under construction also provide an opportunity to avoid up to 21,800 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

In southern Italy, Webuild is working on 16 projects that involve circa 4,400 direct and indirect workers with a supply chain of more than 3,800 businesses since the start of the works. Among them, there are four sections of the high-speed/high-capacity railway between Naples and Bari, and the Mega Lot 3 of the Ionian state road that will connect the coastal areas of the Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia regions, providing a link between the A3 highway and Puglia.