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THE PROJECT HERALD
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Projects, Capital, Companies and Policy

Webuild Group

Country
Italy
Sector
Construction / Engineering
Intelligence Type
Corporate
Status / Stage
Expanding
Confidence
Confirmed

Webuild (formerly Salini Impregilo) is one of the most active heavy civil works contractors on the African continent — builder of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), contracted for sections of Egypt’s HSR, and present in multiple water infrastructure, dam and tunnelling projects across Africa. It is Italy’s largest construction group and one of the global top-ten heavy civil contractors by backlog.

Company Profile

Company TypePublic
HeadquartersMilan, Italy
Countries of Operation50+ countries; Africa: Ethiopia (GERD), Egypt (HSR civil works), Lesotho, South Africa, other Sub-Saharan markets
Founded1906 (predecessor companies)
Websitewebuildgroup.com
Key ExecutivesPietro Salini (CEO)
Employees~80,000
Revenue~€8 billion (2024)

Key Developments

Completed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) — Africa's largest hydropower plant at 5,150MW. Currently active on Egypt HSR civil works (as part of the Orascom/Arab Contractors/Webuild consortium). Exploring Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2 tunnelling opportunities and various East/Southern African water and dam projects. Webuild's African backlog has grown significantly post-GERD.

Key Risks

Heavy civil works in emerging markets carry significant political risk — the GERD created diplomatic tensions between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan that Webuild navigated throughout construction. Currency and payment risk is a persistent feature of sovereign-financed projects.

What Happens Next

Watch for Webuild's involvement in any LHWP Phase 2 (Lesotho) tunnelling tenders and East African dam procurement — these are natural follow-on opportunities to GERD.

Commercial Opportunity Intelligence

Opportunity SignalGERD completion establishes Webuild as the go-to contractor for large-scale African dam and water infrastructure. The Egypt HSR contract extends that reputation into rail civil works.
Commercial ReadinessCommercially Active

Analyst Notes

Link via Relationships to: GERD (already in your database), Egypt HSR (new Project record), Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2 (new Project record).

Source & Verification Trail

Last VerifiedAugust 2026
Source(s)Webuild official website; ENR Top 250 Global Contractors; Reuters (GERD completion coverage)
Source Date2024–2026