The Lot H53 contract – the largest construction lot in Austrian history – is worth €959m (US$1bn).
The Porr-Marti consortium will use two TBMs, as well as blasting, to build two single-track tunnels with a total length of 25.2km. The TBMs will have an excavation diameter of 10.37m and advance up to 30m a day. In addition to the main tunnels, another 3.6km of exploratory and cross-cut tunnels are also planned. Construction will take around six years.
Lot H53 is Porr’s second contract for the Brenner Base Tunnel. The company is also building the approximately 600m-long link between the tunnel and Innsbruck’s main railway station through the Sill Gorge with construction Lot H21. Completion of the Sill Gorge section is planned for 2024.
“We are delighted to be tackling this project of the century with our partner Marti,” said Porr CEO Karl-Heinz Strauss. “The Brenner Base Tunnel is a key response to the core issue of mobility that Europe needs to address.”
The 64km Brenner Base Tunnel – the longest rail tunnel in the world – is being built under the Alps to connect Italy and Austria, reducing the journey time from Fortezza to Innsbruck from 80 minutes to 25 minutes. It will be a key part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
