The ground-breaking ceremony at the West Portal of the Lietavská Lúčka – Višňové – Dubná Skala stretch of the D1 highway, has taken place at Višňové in north Slovakia. The ceremony marked an important milestone consisting of the excavation of the first 100m of what will become the country’s longest tunnel at 7.5km.
The planned twin-tube tunnel is part of the 13.4km section of the D1 highway under construction by the joint venture led by Salini Impregilo. It is also part of the Corridor No. 5 of the Trans- European Networks (TEN) which links Bratislava with Uzhhorod in Ukraine and is financed by the Slovakian government and the European Union through the European Investment Bank.
“We are enthusiastic about being a part of the infrastructure renaissance in Slovakia” stated Pietro Salini, “a key driver for the country’s growth supported by a stable political outlook and we are putting all our experience in design and construction contracts at the disposal of our esteemed client, NDS”.
The design and build contract worth about €410M was awarded to the Joint Venture Salini Impregilo (Leader) – DUHA, in 2014 by the National Highway Company (NDS), owner of the Motorway Preparation and Construction Programme, approved by Government.
The expected duration of the works is 66 months.
The ceremony was presided by the Slovakian Transport Minister Počiatek Ján, Chief Representative of the EU in Slovakia, Dušan Chrenek, the Mayor of Žilina Igor Choma, and the General Director and Chairman of the NDS Milan Gajdoš as well as Salini Impregilo CEO Pietro Salini together with the General Manager for International Operations, Claudio Lautizi.
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