PRESS NOTE

Milan, July 11, 2019 – Salini Impregilo and its local partner have won an award for the design and manufacture of the precast concrete segments used to line the tunnels they are excavating for the Public Transport Authority’s Forrestfield-Airport Link in the latest recognition of the level of excellence they have brought to the project in Perth, Australia.

At a ceremony held on July 5, they received the 2019 Award for Excellence in the Technology and Innovation Category from the Western Australia Branch of the Concrete Institute of Australia. The judges commended the state of the art of the design and manufacture of the segmental tunnel lining, saying it was above and beyond the norm. “The tunnel segment lining has been designed and manufactured to deliver an infrastructure project that performs above industry best practice and standards,” they said.

The award means the joint-venture between Salini Impregilo and NRW Pty Ltd is in the running for the National Awards for Excellence in Concrete, to be announced in Sydney in September.

Together with concrete supplier Boral Ltd, they delivered a high quality, durable and sustainable product based on a hybrid system using steel fibre-reinforced concrete and light steel reinforcement rebar cage. Polypropylene fibres were incorporated within the concrete mix to make them fire resistant. The mix-design was developed based on triple-blend cementitious materials. A customised production plant was set up to produce the segments. Designed specifically for the project, each mould has a double gasket, is water tight and has a durability of 120 years.

“We believe that we have set the highest standard for the production of precast tunnel lining segments in Australia, and for this we are extremely proud,” said Project Manager Richard Graham.

The likelihood that Salini Impregilo will win other awards of this kind for projects elsewhere in the world is set to rise as it pursues Progetto Italia (Project Italy), an industrial operation to consolidate the infrastructure sector in Italy, its home market. The scale and expertise that it stands to gain from the creation of a new group will make it more competitive on the global market.