A EUR 390m loan contract was signed today by European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Wilhelm Molterer and ASFINAG’s Board of Directors Klaus Schierhackl and Alois Schedl. The loan will contribute towards financing tunnel safety measures on the A9 Pyhrn motorway. ASFINAG is investing a total of around EUR 780m on upgrading tunnels on the A9.
The 230 km-long A9 Pyhrn motorway (E57) is an important north-south link. The final section was completed in 2004. Three tunnel systems – the Klaus chain of tunnels and the Bosruck and Gleinalm tunnels – are single-tube bi-directional tunnels and a second tunnel will be added to them over the next few years.
Over the period to 2018 ASFINAG will be investing a total of EUR 1.5bn in modernising its system of tunnels to comply with an EU Directive that provides for stricter safety measures in European tunnels.
EIB Vice-President Molterer said: “The Pyhrn motorway is one of the busiest roads in Austria. It needs to be upgraded to cope with the ever-increasing volume of traffic rapidly and above all safely. ASFINAG is one of the most experienced partners in tunnelling technology and tunnel construction in Europe and even the world.”
For ASFINAG road safety is of paramount importance. “Between now and 2018 we will be investing EUR 1.5bn in tunnel safety”, added ASFINAG’s Board of Directors Klaus Schierhackl and Alois Schedl. “We are delighted to have been able to secure such a first-rate partner as the EIB for the safety measures on the A9.”
