CSC AND WEBUILD, BRENNER BASE TUNNEL: TBM "LILIA" READY FOR EXCAVATION

CSC and Webuild, Brenner Base Tunnel: TBM "Lilia" ready for mechanized excavation in one of the two longest sections of the tunnels after successfully passing final test

SCHWANAU (Germany) The TBM "Lilia" is ready to start mechanized excavation in one of the longest sections of the main tunnels of the Brenner Base Tunnel on Austrian territory, after successfully completing the ritual final test (Factory Acceptance Test) at Herrenknecht's workshops in Schwanau, Germany. It is the first of two TBMs (Tunnel Boring Machines) that will be deployed for the construction of Lot H41 Sill-Pfons Gorge. Together with its twin sister "Ida," with a milling head more than 10m in diameter, it will tackle the excavation of the approximately 8.2km between the assembly cavern and the southern limit of the lot.

Lot H41 Sil-Pfons Gorge, with a total value of €651 million, was awarded last year to Webuild Group in a joint venture with Implenia, and will result in the employment of 400 direct workers for its construction. Webuild is participating in the project, together with its Swiss subsidiary CSC Construction, with a total stake of 50 percent in the joint venture. The Client for the work is BBT SE, a European joint-stock company aimed at building the Brenner Base Tunnel, the railway tunnel that will allow the natural barrier of the Alps between Italy and Austria to be crossed.

With a total length of 64km, the Brenner Base Tunnel will be the longest rail tunnel in the world. It identifies itself as one of the most important and priority infrastructure projects being executed in Europe today and as a junction of the European SCAN-MED (Scandinavia-Mediterranean) corridor.

Lot H41 involves the construction of the section extending over Austrian territory, from the Sill Stream Gorge near the city of Innsbruck in the north to the territory of the village of Pfons in the south, with the excavation of 22.5km of main tunnels and 38 connecting cross passages with a total length of about 2.3km. Also planned is the lining of tunnels already excavated as part of previous lots, including the Innsbruck underground emergency stop, access window, exploratory tunnel and other portions of tunnels of secondary importance.

The construction project of Lot H41 was started last January. Currently, excavation of the assembly caverns, in the area of the Innsbruck emergency stop, and the construction of the partition wall in the interconnecting tunnels are underway.

As part of the Brenner Base Tunnel construction project, Webuild is also already engaged in the construction of the Isarco and Mules 2-3 Sub-Crossing Lots and has built the Tulfes-Pfons Lot in Austria. Webuild is also involved in the construction of the southern access sections to the Brenner Base Tunnel, between Fortezza and Ponte Gardena.

CSC is present on the three major Alpine tunnels currently under construction in Europe, namely the Brenner Basistunnel, the Gotthard and the TELT Turin-Lyon project. CSC has in past years built two of the five main lots of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which at 57 kilometers, is currently the longest rail tunnel in the world, a record destined to be surpassed, once completed, by the Brenner Base Tunnel itself.