A consortiun headed by Salini Impregilo Group has been awarded a contract to build the first section of the coastal motorway in Libya with a total investment of €963m.
Salini Impregilo, a new entity created from a merger of Italian construction firms Salini and Impregilo, owns a 58% share in the project, which will generate 2,000 jobs.
The new contract comprises a performance bond of 2% and an advance of 15% equivalent to €145m.
Other parties in the consortium include La Società Italiana per CONDOTTE d’Acqua, Impresa Pizzarotti & C. and Cooperativa Muratori & Cementisti – C.M.C.
The proposed 1,700km motorway will stretch across Libya, from the Tunisian border to the Egyptian border, and will be funded by the Italian government as part of the Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed with Libya on 30 August 2008.
First section of the coastal motorway, to be built by Salini Impregilo Group, will run for nearly 400km from the city of Marj to Emsaad, on the Egyptian border.
Vital parts of the project include the construction of 12 bridges of 2.2km in length, eight service areas and six parking areas.
The contract was initially awarded around two years ago to a consortium led by oil services firm Saipem, but was never formally signed before the start of the civil war in 2011, Reuters reported citing undisclosed source.
Salini Impregilo Group has to date constructed several major infrastructure projects in Libya, including airports, ports, ministerial centres, buildings of the Libyan Parliament in Sirte, industrial complexes in the cities of Ras Lanuf and Misurata, as well as the Sewerage and Water Supply system of Benghazi.
