Implenia : led joint venture wins contract to build northern access shaft on the Gotthard

The Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) has awarded the CHF 86.6 million contract to build a 4 km access shaft for the second Gotthard tube (Lot 243) to the 'secondo tubo' joint venture between Implenia, Webuild Group / csc and Frutiger.

Dietlikon, 18 March 2021 - The northern access shaft will provide access to the 'northern disruption zone'. Lot 243 also covers various preparatory logistics facilities for the main lot. These include several shafts and a large logistics cavern for an underground concrete plant, portal excavation for the second tunnel tube and various installations for materials management.

Led by Implenia, the 'secondo tubo' joint venture - in which Implenia has a 40% share, Webuild Group / csc has another 40% and Frutiger has 20% - won the contract ahead of four other bids and two additional variants, having scored highest in an evaluation of all the relevant criteria. The successful tender is subject to a 20-day appeal period. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring and should take around 2.5 years to complete.

The successful bid for the northern access shaft is the second lot awarded to Implenia within the project to build a second tube for the Gotthard road tunnel. In November 2020 it was asked to reposition the northern safety shaft (Lot 242). Prior to that, between 2001 and 2014, Implenia played a major role in the construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel for the railway, a contract worth CHF 2.84 billion in total. The awarding of the contract for Lot 243 comes a few months before the tender for the two larger lots.

Christian Späth, Head Division Civil Engineering Implenia: 'The Gotthard road tunnel is a key infrastructure project for Switzerland. With its wealth of experience and wide range of specialist skills, Implenia, Switzerland's largest construction services provider, can make a significant contribution.'