Italy Chooses Consortium To Build $5-Billion Suspension Link
The worlds longest suspension bridge, to span Sicily and the Italian mainland, will be built by a consortium led by Italys largest contactor. State-owned bridge concessionaire Stret-to di Messina SpA (SdM), Rome, hopes to sign the $4.7-billion design-build contract with the team led by Milan-based Impregilo SpA by years end.
The Impregilo team edged out a rival bid from another Italian-led consortium by cutting 12% from the owners base cost and some eight months from the construction schedule, according to SdM. The winning consortium will raise about $625 million in loans to help fund construction, to be repaid in phases throughout the projects duration, says an SdM spokeswoman.