Webuild Group Consortium Wins €80m Gotthard Base Tunnel Section Contract

By TBM Staff March 24, 2021

Webuild Group and its consortium partners have won a contract worth about 80 million euros to build a 4-km long access tunnel at the north end of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in a project that will prepare for the expansion of the highway that runs through the tunnel, and contribute to the development of sustainable mobility at the heart of the Alps. With a joint 40% stake, Webuild and its Swiss subsidiary csc impresa costruzioni sa is a member of a consortium whose partners include Implenia with a 40% stake and Frutiger at 20%.

Commissioned by the Federal Roads Office, the project – Lot 243 of the N02 Second Gotthard Tunnel – foresees the construction of an access tunnel, early development of the area, the excavation of a logistical underground space for a cement plant, preliminary excavations for the second tunnel and other installations for the management of materials. Work is to begin this sprint and last for about two and a half years. Lot 243 precedes by a number of months the tenders for two bigger lots for the rest of the project.

Csc worked on two of the five main lots of the Gotthard Base Tunnel itself, which runs from the northern portal at Erstfeld in the Uri Canton to Bodio in the south in the Ticino Canton. Csc also worked on the Ceneri Base Tunnel. Inaugurated in September, it runs for 15.4 km and completes the rail line service for goods and people across the Alps. The new north-south axis connects more efficiently and sustainably Switzerland and Italy. Travel between Zurich and Lugano has been reduced to less than two hours, and down to nearly three hours between Zurich and Milan.

With its 57 km, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is the longest railway tunnel in the world. But this record will be beaten when the Brenner Base Tunnel is completed at 64 km. The sustainable mobility project will improve transport in Europe on which Webuild is working on three major sites: the Mules 2-3, the main section at the Italian end of the tunnel with 75 km of tunnels; the Mules 2-3, the main section at the Italian end of the tunnel; and the Lot Tulfes-Pfons that includes underground civil works and the Isarco River Underpass at the southernmost end of the tunnel before the Fortezza station. The Group, in consortium with Implenia, was recently selected as best bidder to design and build a €1.07-billion high-capacity railway for about 22.5 km extending from the Brenner Base Tunnel between Fortezza and Ponte Gardena.