Webuild: release of major works for the relaunch of employment

The restart of the occupation passes from the construction sites to the major works. One for all: the Brenner railway tunnel, for which Webuild was awarded the construction, alone is worth 15,000 jobs. The construction sector will also be central to the recovery according to Manpower, which in the third quarter of 2021 expects a positive balance of 7% between entries and exits in the labor market and stresses that the boost will come precisely from hiring in the trade (+ 14% on previous quarter) and construction (+ 12%). For Webuild, the creation and safeguarding of jobs represent one of the main sustainability objectives that the group has set itself (Decent work and economic growth, United Nations Sdg 8). An important impact is in the South, where the unblocking of construction sites is worth 17,000 employees. On the Naples-Bari Webuild is at work on the Apice-Hirpinia and on the Naples-Cancello section: the high-speed line will allow trains to travel at 200 kilometers per hour, crossing numerous areas at risk of depopulation. In these areas, the grounding of the work will allow GDP to grow by 1.6 percent. The new state road 106 Jonica, which sees Webuild involved in the construction of the Megalotto 3, is another symbol of the relaunch of the South: it will lead to the creation of 1,500 jobs, to which the related ones will be added. In Sicily Webuild was then awarded the contract for the design and execution of the doubling works of the high-capacity Messina-Catania railway line. On the island, the group is also carrying out the doubling of the Bicocca-Catenanuova railway line, part of the Palermo-Catania railway line that will make it possible to connect the two main Sicilian cities with high speed. In Naples, instead, Webuild will build the metro line 1 station at the Capodichino airport. Finally, also in the South, the company led by Pietro Salini launched a program to hire 100 young people. To restart construction in Italy, after ten years of stalemate, Webuild has focused on Progetto Italia. A long-term system operation to create a global player, competitive both on the domestic and international markets, capable of safeguarding between 300 and 400 thousand jobs in the construction sector. Launched in 2019 and started with the acquisition of 65% of Astaldi by Webuild, Progetto Italia is proving to be decisive in this post-pandemic phase for the relaunch of a sector that in Italy is worth 8 points of gross domestic product. In the South, the Webuild group is currently working on 10 major projects, and another 4 have recently been awarded. With these sites, the group employs more than 2,000 people, both direct and indirect, without considering all related activities, with 1,700 suppliers involved in the various projects in the south, with total contracts worth approximately 950 million euros.