Press Release
NEW GENOA BREAKWATER: LAYING OF SIXTH CAISSON NOW COMPLETED
OVER 400 PEOPLE ENGAGED ON THE PROJECT, OF WHICH 150 IN THE OPEN SEA
Genoa, January 18, 2025 – The laying of the sixth caisson of the New Genoa Breakwater, a project built by the PerGenova Breakwater consortium, led by Webuild, on behalf of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority, has now been completed.
The caissons, which will be approximately 90 in total, are as large as buildings. And they are built and filled with specialist techniques to ensure the safety and resilience of the infrastructure. The project, which is technically very challenging, currently engages a total of over 400 people (direct and third-party personnel), of whom 150 are working in the open sea.
The seabed's consolidation along the perimeter that will host the new dam, is also proceeding.
On it, approximately 17,800 submerged gravel columns have been built, which are destined to improve the resistance and stability of the work's foundation. This phase of the work sees a fleet of means equipped in total with six vibroflots (i.e. advanced instruments that allow making terrains like the ones of the Genoa seabed, more compact). Vibroflots use ultra-technological machines to check the water pressure, depth and sea conditions. They are driven and guided by specialised personnel on cranes as high as 100 metres. And are brought downwards, slowly, to be progressively inserted into the terrain. These then make holes into the seabed, dropping gravel into these holes, through vibrations, and then make everything more compact. The activity consolidation plan raises these vibroflots to a total eight, with two more units compared to the number used up to now.
The New Genoa Breakwater will allow ships as long as 400 metres to access the Port of Genoa. The project is destined to consolidate the role of the Port of Genoa in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor of the TEN-T trans-European transport, to which the Terzo Valico dei Giovi-Genoa Junction Project also being built by Webuild also belongs. This will therefore further contribute to the development of Genoa's port system, specifically focusing also on environmental sustainability.
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Webuild is a global leader in the design and construction of large, complex infrastructure projects in sustainable mobility, hydropower, water treatment, and green buildings. A recognized leader in the water sector, it is present in 50 countries with more than 91,000 people, ranking among the leading international players in Australia, Europe and the United States. In nearly 120 years of applied engineering on more than 3,200 projects, the Group has built 14,140 kilometres of rail and metro lines, 82,533 kilometres of roads and highways, 1,020 kilometres of bridges and viaducts, 3,408 kilometres of tunnels, and 313 dams and hydropower plants. Projects include the expansion of the Panama Canal, the Long Beach International Gateway bridge in California, the Third Bosphorus Bridge in Turkey, the Sydney Metro Northwest skytrain viaduct and bridge, the Kingdom Centre skyscraper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and metro lines in Copenhagen, Paris, Rome, Milan, Doha and Riyadh. Others under construction include the new Genoa Breakwater, the Brenner Base Tunnel, Line C of Rome's metro network, the high-capacity railways between Genoa and Milan, and Naples and Bari, the Palermo-Catania-Messina high-capacity railway, the Snowy 2.0 hydropower scheme in Australia, and the Trojena dam network for NEOM in Saudi Arabia. As of June 30, 2024, Webuild Group achieved a total backlog of €65 billion, with more than 90% of its construction backlog related to projects linked to the advancement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As of December 31, 2023, revenues totalled €10 billion. Webuild, subject to the direction and coordination of Salini Costruttori S.p.A., is headquartered in Italy and listed on the Milan stock exchange, Borsa Italiana (WBD; WBD.MI; WBD:IM). Since 2021, it is member of the MIB ESG, the index of publicly listed Italian companies with the best ESG practices.
More information at www.webuildgroup.com
Contacts:
Francesca Romana Chiarano
Senior Manager - Media Relations
Tel. +39 338 247 4827
mail: f.chiarano@webuildgroup.com
Carmen Cecchini
Media Relations
Tel. +39 346 3019009
email: c.cecchini@webuildgroup.com