Strabag replaces Hochtief in Austria following contract termination

A Strabag AG/Jäger Bau GmbH/G. Hinteregger & Söhne Baugesellschaft m.b.H JV has assumed the tunnel driving works on Austria’s Maria Stein pressure flow tunnel on the Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Inn (GKI) power plant project. The move follows the recent termination of the original contract with Hochtief.

A GKI statement said, “This building contract was terminated by mutual agreement early on 14.02.2017. In the spring of 2017, the excavation work will be continued with a new contractor.”

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The construction consortium has been hired to build the remaining 19km (of a total of 22km) of hard rock tunnel with a diameter of 6.5m. Two Robbins TBMs are in use on the project. The construction contract was concluded on the basis of an alliance and partnering model.

The power plant is scheduled for operation in 2020. When completed, the facility along the Swiss-Austrian border region will generate more than 400GWh of electricity and in doing so make a significant contribution to Tyrol’s energy autonomy.

The total investment in Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Inn GmbH – including the construction works – is estimated at €460M.

The run-of-the-river power plant is owned to 76% by TIWAG, 14% by Engadiner Kraftwerke and 10% by Verbund. Construction is being carried out under the overall responsibility of TIWAG.