(Reuters) - A joint venture between Italian construction group Webuild and France's Vinci won a 1.43 billion euros ($1.69 billion) contract for the excavation of a section of the base tunnel for the Turin-Lyon high-speed railway.
Webuild and Vinci each own 50% of the JV.
The railway, which will run under the Alps, is part of the Trans-European Transport Network, a European Union initiative aimed at connecting the continent's networks to favour the transport of people and goods on rail rather than road.
($1 = 0.8479 euros)