Italian road authority ANAS has awarded a €791m contract to a joint venture between Astaldi and Impregilo to build a stretch of the Jonica National Road in southern Italy.

The companies will be responsible for construction of Mega-Lot 3 of the Jonica National Road (National Road-106), spanning 38km from the junction with National Road 534 (NR-534) to Roseto Capo Spulico.

The main works include the construction of 13km of tunnels, 5km of viaducts and 20km of embankments.

Construction is expected to be completed in seven years and eight months, including 15 months of project engineering and construction start-up phase, with the remaining six years and five months for actual building work.

As a joint venture partner, Astaldi will hold a 60% stake in the contract, while the remaining stake will be held by Impregilo.

Astaldi Group is currently working on two more mega-lots of the Jonica National Road at a cost of €800m for 30km of road. These projects are the Mega-Lot 2 in the Catanzaro area and Mega-Lot 1 in Siderno.

So far, more than 60% of works on Mega-Lot 1 have been completed and 12km out of 17km on the Mega-Lot 2 have been opened to traffic.

In addition to the latest project, Impreglio is also carrying out two main maxi-lots of the Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway from Gioia Tauro to Campo Calabro.