SICIM Awarded Major Pipeline Project in Italy
Having been awarded the construction of 4 lots of the Ravenna – Chieti gas pipeline by Snam Rete Gas, SICIM is returning to its origins and is back in the Italian pipeline construction market after 15 years. The project is located along the Adriatic coast and crosses 3 regions: Emilia-Romagna, Marche, and Abruzzo.
Under Snam’s general investment programme, aimed at maintaining the security and quality levels of the national gas transport network, SICIM will install 175 km of 26” gas line to replace the existing infrastructure built in the 1970s. The pipeline route crosses the coastal “Riviera Adriatica” just outside Ravenna and Rimini and then the hills of central Italy, and entails several complex technological challenges. The presence of roads, railways, and rivers crossings will lead to laying more than 20% of the pipeline length (i.e., approx. 44 km) by using trenchless technologies such as 24 microtunnels, 40 HDDs, and more than 200 auger borings.
The work includes the installation of 31 associated above ground installations and approximately 56 km of minor pipeline interconnections with sizes of between 4” and 10”. Once the new pipeline will be commissioned and in operation, the old line is to be removed and steel pipes disposed of. The work will start during the summer of 2022, to be completed within a 36-month period, employing approximately 400 people. As with all of its projects, after completion of the replacement, Snam will take care to restore the natural ecosystems affected by the works.