RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana), the Italian railway infrastructure management company, signs the €1.005 Billion worth contract with the consortium lead by WeBuild group.

The consortium of WeBuild Group (70% stake) and Pizzarotti (30% stake) will double the high-capacity railway between the cities of Messina and Catania in Sicily along the Giampilieri–Fiumefreddo section, known as the Second Functional Taormina–Giampilieri Lot.

The work requires construction of a new railway for 28.3 kilometres that will include the civil and related works such as electrification, signalling and communications. It will also foresee the excavation of two natural single tunnels, six parallel tunnels and seven viaducts. Around 25 kilometers will consist of tunnels.

The Taormina-Giampilieri lot will be part of a new line between Messina and Catania that will join the existing one ahead of the Fiumfreddo station, then reconnect to it at the Giampilieri station. Most of the line will be through tunnels and further away from the coast than the existing line. It will include a hub at Fiumefreddo, a new underground station at Taormina, five new open-air stops.

The Palermo-Catania and Messina-Catania lines belong to a sustainable mobility initiative promoted by the European Union to create the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) network to 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 to connect Genova with Rotterdam along the TEN-T’s Rhine-Alpine Corridor. It is also working on the high-capacity railway between Naples and Bari.

Actual construction is expected to start in 2022.