MILAN, April 10, 2020 – Work continues on the high-speed railway between Naples and Bari currently under construction and involving Salini Impregilo and Astaldi, two protagonists of Progetto Italia, a project to create Webuild, a large group able to compete more effectively on international markets. At a time of national emergency with the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), work on the Naples-Cancello section of the railway is going ahead with a workforce of 200 people and the support of subcontractors from various parts of Italy in full respect of the measures put in place to prevent infection.

On construction sites deemed strategic for clients and communities, like the ones for the new bridge in Genoa and the new M4 metro line in Milan, Salini Impregilo and Astaldi ensure that work proceeds uninterrupted by applying the extraordinary safety measures in the strictest way possible to protect the health of their workers, whose efforts are greatly appreciated by the Group.

The Naples-Cancello section, worth €397 million and commissioned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane) in collaboration with Italferr (construction supervision), is the first part of the Naples-Bari railway. Work is being done on the viaducts that will stretch for four kilometres, crossing a shopping mall, passing by the FCA plant in Pomigliano d’Arco and going over highways on steel bridges. Work is also being done on reinforced concrete diaphragm walls for the tunnels that will link the railway with the new station of Naples-Afragola.

The Naples-Bari line is a crucial project for the socio-economic development of southern Italy. As part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) - the European initiative to connect the region’s railways – it will improve the competitiveness of transport services and help guarantee an integrated and sustainable system of mobility for the country and Europe.

Salini Impregilo has built some of the most strategic railways in Italy, such as the so-called Direttissima between Rome and Florence, and the more modern lines between Milan and Turin, and Bologna and Florence. It is working on the Terzo Valico dei Giovi between Genoa and Milan which, like the Naples-Bari line, will belong to a TEN-T corridor. In southern Italy, the Group is working on the Bicocca-Catenanuova section of the Palermo-Catania line that will allow travel between the two cities in less than two hours.