G20’s Italian Delegates visit Package-1 in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India

As part of the activities related to the G20, which will hold its culminating phase in India in September 2023, the G20 delegates met for the 2nd Anti-Corruption Working Group Meeting in Rishikesh (Uttarakhand state-India) on May 25-27.

The event was particularly heartfelt in India and by the local governments that, among other things, provided significant road improvements and beautification of the surrounding environment with miles of murals on retaining walls and welcome posters.

On this important occasion, 5 members of the Italian delegation paid a visit to the Package-1 construction site in Rishikesh where construction work is under way on the new Rishikesh-Karanprayag railway line. As part of the project, Italferr, an engineering company of the Infrastructure Hub of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group, as parent company of the JV with Lombardi, has been appointed to carry out the Project Management Consultancy (PMC) activities that include the construction of two tunnels, in the sub-Himalayan area, each about 11 km long (the Main Tunnel - railway tunnel and the Escape Tunnel - road tunnel for emergencies) under particularly complex and challenging rock mass conditions.

With the design phase completed, construction commenced in September 2020. Currently, overall tunnel construction advancement, which is taking place simultaneously on eight excavation fronts, has reached 43% of the total length.

The Italian delegation was welcomed by Italferr's PM, Giancarlo Rinaldi, by representatives of the Client RVNL and by the Contractor Max-HES (JV).

The visit began in the offices with an illustration of the project under construction and some basic principles on tunnel construction methodologies, and then proceeded with a visit to the construction site at the excavation fronts of Main Tunnel 1 and of Escape Tunnel 1.

At the end of the visit, the Italian delegation expressed its satisfaction and congratulated Italferr on the Italian contribution it is providing in the construction of a significant and impactful engineering structure for India.

We wish to thank the Minister Plenipotentiary and Coordinator of Multilateral Diplomacy of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fabrizio Marcelli, (head of the delegation), the Legal Advisor and Coordinator for Anti-Corruption Activities of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Giovanni Tartaglia Polcini, the Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Florence and member of the Superior Council of the Magistracy, Michele Papa, the representative of the Court of Auditors, Mauro Orefice, and the representative of the Bank of Italy, Italo Borrello.