Green light for the contract to manage and reuse excavated rocks from the construction of the Mont Cenis base tunnel in Italy. The TELT Board of Directors has approved the awarding of the €648.2 million tender to the consortium made up of Piedmontese companies Cogeis (lead contractor), CO.GE.FA., TRA.MA., Cavit, M.S. Plant Technology, and the Swiss company Hupac Intermodal.

With a circular economy approach in mind, TELT has opted for a single Italian lot to manage both the logistics and processing of the materials. Specifically, it is estimated that over 50% of the 7 million tonnes of rocks excavated on Italian territory during the works for the cross-border section will be reused in the project. The same applies to the French lot, which was awarded in October. The reuse target could reach up to 60%, thanks to the agreement signed by the Intergovernmental Commission on the Lyon-Turin project on behalf of the Italian and French governments. For the first time in Europe, it is now possible to transport and use reusable excavated materials across national borders, treating the cross-border section of the Lyon-Turin as a “single construction site.”

Where and how are the materials reused?

The contract includes several activities: once the rocks are classified upon exiting the Chiomonte tunnel to determine their suitability for reuse, they are transported via highway to the industrial area of Salbertrand. Here, part of the materials will be used to produce concrete segments for lining the main tunnels, while another portion will be allocated to railway embankments, which form the bases for the tracks. Finally, materials that lack suitable geomechanical properties will be transported by train to Torrazza Piemonte and Caprie, where the rocks will be repurposed as fill material for disused quarries.