Group and consortium partners named Preferred Proponents for sustainable mobility project in Canada

• Webuild and Connect 6ix consortium partners to help in development of new metro line in Toronto

MILAN, September 15, 2022 – Webuild is renewing its expansion in North America as the Group and its Connect 6ix consortium partners have been selected as preferred proponents to deliver the Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations and Maintenance (RSSOM) project for the Ontario Line, a new rapid transit line that will cross downtown Toronto in Canada. Commissioned by Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx, the project has Webuild with an estimated €450-million stake in the joint-venture responsible for the civil works and a 10% stake in the Connect 6ix project company. Financial close is expected to occur later this year.

 

It is the latest project for which Webuild has been identified as best bidder, the others also being projects with a high engineering component in a number of strategic markets. It also confirms the Group’s de-risking strategy, with Italy responsible for 41% of its total construction order backlog as of June 30 2022, Europe with 11%, Australia with 13% and North America with 9%. With their various plans to invest in infrastructure, these markets make up more than 80% of the Group’s commercial pipeline.

RSSOM, which will be done as a public-private partnership (PPP), includes the design, construction and maintenance of the rails for the tunnels of the new Ontario Line, as well as the signaling, communications and safety systems. It is one of several contracts involved in the construction of the line, which will connect the Ontario Science Centre in the northeast with Ontario Place in the southwest by the shore of Lake Ontario. The line, half of which will be underground, will be 15.6 kilometres long with 15 stations, and more than 40 connections to other metro lines, regional trains and bus services. 

As one of the major transit projects for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, the Ontario Line will provide fast, reliable service to more than 227,500 people who live near it. The new subway will help eliminate up to 28,000 cars on the roads every day, reduce traffic congestion and CO2 emissions with 7.2 million litres less fuel consumed every year. And economic growth along the line is expected to create thousands of jobs annually during its construction.

The RSSOM contract would be the second sustainable mobility project that Webuild will have in Canada. Webuild is also part of Mobilinx – another consortium responsible for building the Hurontario light rail transit line, near Toronto, which will run for 18 kilometres along Hurontario Street from Port Credit in the city of Mississauga to the Brampton Gateway Terminal in the city of Brampton. 

As a global leader in sustainable mobility, Webuild has built more than 13,600 kilometres of rail and metro lines throughout the world. Its current projects include the Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth, Australia, a rail line connecting the eastern suburbs to the city centre via the airport; the M4 Line in Milan between the city airport and the historic centre; and a section of Line 16 for the Grand Paris Express.