Webuild wins €1bn contract for Romanian road

A consortium led by Italian construction firm Webuild has been selected to construct Lot 3 of the Sibiu-Pitesti Highway project, crossing the Carpathian mountains in Romania.

Illustration of highway running through the Carpathain mountains in Romania. Image: Webuild

The total value of the contract is said to be in excess of €1 billion.

The Milan-headquartered civil engineering specialist came through a bidding process for Lot 3, involving companies from Austria, Italy, Romania, Spain and Turkey.

The developer, Compagnia Nationala de Administrare a Infrastructurii Rutiere (CNAIR), operating on behalf of theRomania’s transport and infrastructure ministry, reportedly selected Webuild due to its expertise in the design and construction of complex tunnels, as well as the group’s solid financial position.

The scope of Lot 3 includes the design and construction of a 1.7km-long twin tunnel, as well as 48 viaducts and more than 23km of a double-lane highway.

Webuild, along with its Romanian consortium partner Tancrad (taking a 10% stake in the project), will also design and build two interchanges at Valeni and Cornetu, 18km of consolidation works and a maintenance and control centre, as well as undertaking work to preserve the environment.

When completed, the Sibiu-Pitesti Highway – which is being constructed in 5 lots – will stretch to over 122km. Webuild is also currently working on Lot 5 of the project.

Connecting central and western Romania with the wider European highway network, the new highway will become part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). As such, 85% of the project is being financed by the European Union.

According to Webuild, the construction on Lot 3 alone is expected to create more than 40,000 jobs.