Twenty-five kilometers of new water pipes in one of the areas most affected by the Drought of the country. In the plain of Catania the work of replacing part of the hydraulic system was substantially completed, a 50-year-old infrastructural network, with losses reaching up to 60% of the water transported to the detriment of the agricultural companies that cultivate the crops in the area blood oranges Of Sicily. The new pipes will come into operation in the next irrigation season, which usually begins in end of June.
The intervention, carried out by the Group Webuild in synergy with the Reclamation Consortium from the Sicilian regionwas commissioned by RFI with an investment of 10 million euros and falls within the scope of activities related to the construction of railway doubling of the Bicocca-Catenanuova section from the Palermo-Cataniathe new railway line that will change the island’s mobility system.
The new pipes, which have reduced water dispersion to zero for the part of the renewed networkaffect an area of approximately 40 thousand hectares where he was modernized the regional irrigation system, dating back to the 1960s. The works of Lot 6 of railway doubling of the Palermo-Catania line in fact they cross the plain of Cataniaan area of 60 thousand hectaresbetween more fertile than Sicilycultivated mainly in citrus groves and to a lesser extent a vegetables And cereals.
The interventions on the water network began in the autumn of 2022, once the interference of the irrigation pipes, canals and pipes with the route of the railway under construction had been identified as part of the infrastructure project. The works therefore focused on the need to replace or divert the existing pipelines, reaching the completion phase with the construction of approximately 25 km of ductile iron and high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes, which guarantees maximum hygiene standards for transport. of water and very high resistance to corrosion, traction and impacts.
The works were carried out by Webuild guaranteeing compliance with the timing of the railway works and, at the same time, irrigation continuity in seasons with very intense drought phenomena, thus protecting the agricultural entrepreneurs of the area.
The intervention allowed us to proceed with a more precise mapping of the pre-existing water networkand fits into a national context of water stress which becomes emergency in the Southern regions and especially in Sicilysubjected to frequent water rationing for hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. On average over the last five years, the Italian water sector has invested 59 euros per inhabitant, 23 euros less than the average of the European Union and the United Kingdom combined, while the PNRR allocates only 4% of funds to the water sector. Italy has obsolete water infrastructure with water losses of over 40% in the distribution phase. It is the fourth worst country in the European Union: 60% of the network is over 30 years old and 25% is over 50 years old. Furthermore, only 4% of wastewater is intended for reuse in agriculture.
Webuild has been a world leader in the water sector for years, both in terms of desalination and wastewater treatment, as well as dams. More than 20 million people are served every day by the systems built by its subsidiary Fisia Italimpianti alone, while approximately a further 16 million people will benefit from the hydraulic infrastructure currently under construction.
If on the one hand the Sicily presents a situation of great water stress with the need for important investments in the sector, on the other hand the Region is experiencing a historic phase of development in the field of sustainable mobility. In Sicily, Webuild is currently involved in the implementation of 8 projects relating to seven sections of the high-capacity railway line Palermo-Catania-Messina and to Lot 1 of the motorway axis Ragusa-Catania. These are large-scale projects, intended to transform and innovate the infrastructure system of the region and which promise to generate a strong boost in employment and an important spin-off for the area. To complete these projects, up to 7,000 jobs are estimated, including direct and third-party personnel, of which approximately 1,700 people are already at work, while the production chain from the start of the works is made up of approximately 1,150 companies.
In particular, Lot 6, with a work progress of 75%, involves the doubling of approximately 38km of high-capacity railway line, between Catenanuova and Bicoccaon the director Palermo-Catania, carried out partly alongside the historic line, now single track, partly through the creation of a new and different route, all double track. The route will contribute to improving the railway service between Enna and Catania, ensuring an increase in transit frequencies and shorter travel times. The route is an important step in strengthening rail connections with the ports of Catania, Augusta and Palermo, and with the airports of Palermo and Catania.
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