Saint Petersburg’s Western High Speed Diameter: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visits the Astaldi work site

Visit on the occasion of the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg

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Saint Petersburg, 17 June 2016 – Today, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited the Astaldi site for the works to complete the central portion of the Western High Speed Diameter (WHSD) in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

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Commissioned by NCH – a consortium set up by VTB Capital and Gazprom Bank – the works have a total value of about EUR 2.1 billion. The project, which extends over an approximately 12-kilometre route, is extremely demanding in its engineering and in terms of its construction and logistics, due to its location and the characteristics of the works: an 8-lane motorway carriageway, 8.5 kilometres of bridges and viaducts largely on the Baltic Sea, with 2 cable-stayed bridges and a 2.5 kilometre cutting on the coastline below sea level, with a 0.4 kilometre tunnel running beneath the Smolenka River.

The Prime Minister’s visit came on the occasion of the schedule of events connected with the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg scheduled during these days. 

Paolo Astaldi, Chairman of the Astaldi Group, stated: “The visit by our Prime Minister, in addition to spotlighting our work in Russia, sends a strong signal on Italian companies’ vitality and their ability to successfully compete on international markets, demonstrating yet again that Italian-made quality in infrastructure is a well-established reality. I would like to thank Prime Minister Renzi for the attention he has shown our Group and the hundreds of people who, each and every day, are committed to building this work.”

The Astaldi Group has been operating in Russia for more than 5 years. During this time, it has been engaged in building major transport infrastructures. In doing its work, the Group relies on local companies and resources (totalling about 5,500 persons) and 50 Italians. It has already overseen the design and performance of the works to enlarge Pulkovo International Airport in Saint Petersburg; now complete, these works were done in only two and a half years. This project, valued at more than EUR 770 million, resulted in the building of the new International Terminal and of a Business Centre, a hotel, a multi-level car park, a methane-fuelled power station, and a fire department station, as well as the renovation of the Domestic Terminal and the construction of the connected roads, including a viaduct for access to the Terminal and a car park.

In addition to the construction of the Western High Speed Diameter in a joint venture, the Astaldi Group is currently also engaged in Lots 7 and 8 of the M-11 Moscow-Saint Petersburg Motorway, to be done on behalf of TWO CAPITAL HIGHWAY – established by VTB Group and VINCI Concessions. This project has a total value of 68 billion roubles and involves the construction of a new motorway 140 kilometres in length, in part 6 lanes and in part 4 lanes, with a design speed of 150 km/h.

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Last updated: Sep 01 2016