Webuild's sustainable mobility projects for the Old Continent

For 117 years, Webuild - the new Group that was founded in 2020, by Salini Impregilo - has made a concrete contribution to facing the new challenges of sustainable mobility for cities and nations around the world. The Group has built 750 km of underground lines, in five continents. This is why Webuild leads the sustainable mobility sector.

Among the works carried out globally, strategic projects for the socio-economic growth of territories and communities, and state-of-the-art infrastructure: unique works in terms of technological excellence, created with the sector’s best technical skills. But also, real engineering challenges faced and met in record time, built in densely populated urban areas to help support the development of cities and countries in continuous growth. Among the most ambitious mobility projects carried out by the Group, there are also works that have become iconic, recognized and awarded internationally for innovation, safety and attention to sustainability. Just like the Skytrain Bridge, part of the Sydney Metro Northwest, which in 2018 obtained a double recognition: the "2018 Project of the Year" award and the "2018 Global Best Project" reserved for the railway sector, both awarded by the specialized magazine Engineering News-Record (ENR).

From Italy to Australia, passing through France and Denmark, we redesigned the way people move in some of the most populated cities in the world, with efficient and sustainable mobility projects.

The Group, in Europe, is the protagonist of highly innovative works, which implement a new sustainable mobility concept of some of the largest metropolitan areas of the continent. Among the most significant projects, there are also engineering challenges that contribute to the revival of large European capitals and works that will support cities and countries to implement ambitious environmental sustainability plans. From Milan to Paris, passing through Copenhagen, we redesigned the way people move in some of the world’s most populated cities, through efficient and sustainable mobility projects.

Webuild at work on the construction sites of the Grand Paris Express: the new metro linking Paris

A visionary and ambitious urban mobility project that will help improve the quality of life of Parisians: a 200 km long underground metro line, 68 stations capable of connecting all the municipalities of Île-de-France, 15 years of work, and over 35 billion euros of total cost. This is the Grand Paris Express, one of Europe’s most important sustainable mobility projects. It promises to transform the physiognomy of Paris, by integrating the suburbs with the centre, and enhancing the city’s large urban areas.

The Grand Paris Express thus becomes the infrastructure of Greater Paris: The sustainable response to the growing need for mobility of the residents of these territories. A major work that is part of the ambitious initiative of making Paris a carbon neutral city, by 2050, in which the Webuild group is engaged in the construction of two lines: the extension of line 14 to Orly airport, and lot 2 of line 16 which will serve the north and east of the metropolitan city. The work represents the evolution of the Parisian metro first inaugurated in 1900 and the RER then, the regional train that connects the city centre with the external areas.

Copenhagen Cityringen Metro: in the Webuild track record, the driverless metro that embraces the Danish capital

Cityringen is one of the most advanced sustainable mobility projects in Europe: a new metropolitan ring in the centre of Copenhagen will help the city become the "greenest" capital in the world, by 2025. Two 15.5 km long tunnels, each surrounding the centre of Copenhagen, and 17 new fully equipped underground stations, located on average 30 meters from the road surface, make Cityringen a mega infrastructure project that aims to reduce traffic, and polluting atmospheric emissions, while consequently improving the quality of life for citizens of the Danish capital.

The new metro line will reach 85% of the population with a station every 600 meters and a train every 80-100 seconds, with a transport system active 24 hours a day. A fast pace that will allow the infrastructure to transport 72 million passengers per year.

After 8 years of work that saw CMT (100% controlled by Salini Impregilo - now Webuild) committed, the new Copenhagen metro was inaugurated in September 2019 by the Queen of Denmark. A result achieved in record time, if we consider the technology and innovation scope of the work, and that works were carried out in highly urbanized areas, with historic buildings of great value present.

A challenge that was successfully overcome, through the work of some 5,000 people, from 24 countries: the project, besides creating thousands of jobs (50% with locals), represented, in a single construction site, the synthesis of the best technical skills of the sector.

Milan Metro: the metro that brings Milan closer to Europe

A unique work in terms of mobility and environmental sustainability, to quickly and efficiently connect the city centre of Milan with Linate airport: this new Milan metro line - known as the M4 – is an imposing project that a once in operation will be able to transport 86 million people every year, also thanks to the frequency of the trains, running every 90 seconds during peak hours.

The new work will cover a distance of 15 kilometers. It will include 21 total stations, which will significantly shorten the city distances between the heart of Lombardy and the rest of Europe. The new M4, a driverless light rail, will allow passengers to cross the historic centre of Milan city in just 30 minutes, connecting the eastern quadrant (Linate airport) with the western one, to San Cristoforo station.

The M4 project, which was carried out by a consortium of companies led by Webuild, is expected to be completed by 2021. To complete one of Europe's most important underground sustainability projects and win an engineering challenge, the Group is working on 56 open construction sites. Some of them are located in the center of Milan, with 1,500 currently operational people. Realizing a strategic work for a city like Milan - crossing its historical heart, underground - also means putting technology at the service of the infrastructure, to preserve and protect Milan’s artistic and cultural heritage.

The M4 is not merely technological excellence and design quality. The new metropolitan line of the Municipality of Milan, in fact, will significantly strengthen the sustainable footprint of the Lombard city, with significant environmental benefits: the line will allow a reduction in traffic in the city of approximately 16 million vehicles per year, with an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 54 thousand tons.

Considering the strategic scope of the work for the citizens of Milan, from the earliest planning stages the M4 was conceived favouring a constant participation of the local community. In 2018 alone, 10,000 people attended the open days organized by the consortium led by Webuild to open the doors of future stations to the curious.