Milan underground expansion

A new concession agreement for the extension of Line 5 of the Milan, Italy, underground as far as the San Siro Stadium has gone to Metro 5, whose main shareholders are Astaldi, Ansaldo STS and Ansaldo Breda ­- both Finmeccanica companies.

The agreement also sees the involvement of Milan's transport firm, Azienda Trasporti Municipalizzata (ATM), and Alstom.

The new stretch, including design activities as well as civil and technological works, will cost € 872 million. It will be financed in part by the Ministry of Infrastructures, by the Milan Municipality, and by private funds.

The contract value for Finmeccanica's transportation sector amounts to € 156 million - € 105 million for Ansaldo STS and € 51 million for AnsaldoBreda. Approximately € 440 million will be invested for the civil works, which will be undertaken by Astaldi.

Metro 5 has already been awarded the concession to construct and manage the section of Line 5 running from Bignami to Garibaldi Station - a 6 km route featuring nine stations. The new agreement means that the line will be extended for a further 7 km with ten new stations. This will allow a connection from the Garibaldi Station/Repubblica area to the San Siro Stadium, using Finnmeccanica Group technology to construct the 100% automatic, driverless system.

As the work is planned to be completed in time for the EXPO 2015, excavation will take place on two different fronts, using four TBMs (Tunnel Boring Machines).

At the end of the construction phase - scheduled to last 57 months - Metro 5 will operate the new subway stretch for a period of 25 years and seven months, with revenues amounting to over € 1,300 million.

Astaldi Group is the general contractor responsible for constructing Line 5, as well as the new Italian underground lines in Rome (Line C), Brescia, Naples and Genoa, as well as Istanbul, Turkey, and Warsaw, Poland.