Press release

Lantania to modernize two railway lines in Bulgaria

 

  •  Wins in joint-venture with a local construction company a project of the National Railway Infrastructure Company of Bulgaria (NRIC) worth 67.7 million euros
  •  It will renew the Plovdiv-Krumovo and Plovdiv-Skutare lines

Madrid, July 24th 2020. Lantania will carry out in joint-venture with Geostroy, one of the main construction firms in Bulgaria, the modernization of the rail lines of Plovdiv-Krumovo, Plovdiv-Skutare and the Plovdiv rail junction. The project amounts 67.7 million euros and has been awarded by the Bulgarian National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC), ADIF’s counterpart in the Balkan country. The contract was signed yesterday in Plovdiv in the presence of the Bulgarian Transport Minister, Rosen Zhelyazkov, the Mayor of Plovdiv, Zdravko Dimitrov, the Chairman of the Board of NRIC, Hristo Alexiev, and the Executive Director of Geostroy, Vladimir Vutov.

The works also include the renovation of the Plovdiv, Krumovo, Skutare and Trakia distribution stations as well as the Plovdiv railway junction. Located in the south of the country, the city of Plovdiv is the second largest in Bulgaria and is considered a major economic center. The works will last more than three years and are scheduled to start this summer. The project includes the design and construction of the platform, track systems, catenary and signalling and telecommunications systems to bring them into line with European interoperability standards.

The scope of work will involve the modernization of 25 km of track to adapt the speed of the trains to 160 km/h, which will require the construction of new routes with platform and structure civil engineering, the rail track renovation and the traction and catenary system. In addition, the entire signalling and communications system will be renewed to adapt it to the European ERTMS standard.

The works are being financed with funds from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, a European Union mechanism for pan-European infrastructure investments in initiatives in the field of transportation, energy and digital developments for greater connectivity between the Member States of the bloc (2014-2020).

The recent acquisition of Soil Tratamiento de Aguas Industriales, with subsidiaries in Colombia and Morocco, has given Lantania a presence beyond our borders. With this contract in Bulgaria, the company is beginning to consolidate the first stage of its international expansion plan, which establishes the development of its activity in European Union countries with a high volume of investment in infrastructures, such as the Balkans, Nordic and Baltic countries. In addition to this recently awarded section, the company has already submitted bids for several other rail projects in the Balkans, also in joint-venture with top local companies.

About Lantania

Lantania builds large transport, water and energy infrastructures to improve quality of life and contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable world. The company has a portfolio of work in progress of more than 300 million euros and assets of more than 80 million euros. The construction of the Almudévar dam (Huesca) and the bridge over the Genil River in Huétor-Tajar (Granada), the expansion of the Guadalajara Hospital and the electrification of the first section of the Ave to Extremadura are some of its most outstanding projects.