Ansaldo STS (STS.MI) has won an order worth EUR 541 million in Libya for rail signalling systems and related telecommunications and power supply equipment for the coastal line from Ras Ajdir to Sirt and the inland line from Al-Hisha to Sabha. The agreement was signed by the CEO of Ansaldo STS, Sergio De Luca, and the Chairman of Libyan Railroads, Said Mohammed Rashid, in Tripoli recently, in the presence of the Chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, and the CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato, Mauro Moretti.

The contract – for which the work will take 45 months - was awarded following an international tender that included the top players in the rail sector. With this deal, Ansaldo STS has entered into one of the most important railway contracts of recent years, and becomes the main partner of Libyan Railroads for the building of the new national railway network.

“The agreement signed today confirms the high regard in which our group is held by a strategically important customer such as Libyan Railroads, and enables Ansaldo STS to gain a foothold in the rapidly-growing North African market”, commented Sergio De Luca, CEO of Ansaldo STS. "Our renowned technological know how and international presence have enabled us to chalk up another success, which in terms of total amount, is the biggest contract ever signed by the group in its entire history.” This ambitious project from the Libyan railways operator will entail the application of the most advanced technology in the field, such as ERTMS/ETCS and GSM-R, all of which Ansaldo STS has already supplied or is currently supplying in other countries, including Italy (Turin to Novara and Milan to Bologna high-speed rail lines), Spain, France, Turkey, China, the Czech Republic, the UK, Sweden and Germany.

SELEX Communications, another Finmeccanica group company, will be a major partner of Ansaldo STS in the deal, providing the innovative GSM-R telecommunications system.