MILAN, October 28, 2020 – Direct and indirect workers totalling 430 and a supply chain of about 200 companies from Italy, especially the local area: they represent the trades, sub-contractors and suppliers of the Bicocca-Catenanuova railway section being developed by the Webuild Group in Sicily during the COVID-19 pandemic in full respect of safety norms.

The section is part of the biggest infrastructure project being overseen by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (Gruppo Ferrovie della Stato Italiane) in Sicily: the expansion of a railway line to allow trains to go at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour between Palermo and Catania, reducing the travel time between the island’s two main cities to under two hours. The €192-million project being developed by the consortium led by Webuild will double the section’s capacity for 38 kilometres. Work is scheduled to be completed by 2023.

In accordance with its vision of sustainability, Webuild has hired workers and chosen about 60% its suppliers and sub-suppliers from the local area. It has also sought solutions and processes to reduce the project’s environmental impact, such as the reuse of spoils and other materials produced by the construction site.

The project belongs to a sustainable mobility initiative promoted by the European Union to create the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) network that will connect and improve the functioning of the continent’s rail network.

With a track record of 13,637 kilometres of rail and metro lines, Webuild is working on similar projects elsewhere in Italy, such as the Terzo Valico dei Giovi, a high-speed/high-capacity railway that will connect Genova with Rotterdam on the TEN-T’s Rhine-Alpine Corridor. It is also working on the high-capacity railway between Naples and Bari.