Austria-Slovenia tunnel project awarded

Construction of the second tube of the Karawanks Tunnel connecting Austria and Slovenia is now going ahead. The work will be headed by Austrian contractors, ARGE Swietelsky Tunnelbau and Swietelsky Baugesellschaft. The 7.8km-long tunnel route runs under the Alpine Karawanks mountain range. The Austrian motorway operator Asfinag is investing around €168 million into the project, while the European Commission is providing €25 million. The work being carried out will include building new rescue routes as wel
August 9, 2018 Read time: 1 min
Construction of the second tube of the Karawanks Tunnel connecting Austria and Slovenia is now going ahead. The work will be headed by Austrian contractors, ARGE Swietelsky Tunnelbau and Swietelsky Baugesellschaft.


The 7.8km-long tunnel route runs under the Alpine Karawanks mountain range. The Austrian motorway operator Asfinag is investing around €168 million into the project, while the European Commission is providing €25 million. The work being carried out will include building new rescue routes as well as installing the latest fire protection facilities and communication systems.

Construction of the first tunnel commences in 1986 and this was opened to traffic in 1991. The tunnel links the Austrian Autobahn A11 from Villach with the A2 highway, running across the border to the Slovenian cities of Kranj and Ljubljana. The road tunnel forms part of the transport axis Munich-Salzburg-Ljubljana-Thessaloniki, also called Pan-European Corridor-X.

Finance & Funding

Related Content

  • Out of sight
    July 16, 2012
    With traffic volumes increasing around the world, many existing road links will need to be upgraded or replaced in coming years The need for new road tunnels is particularly intense in many dense urban areas, due to environmental requirements that mean new road links will have to be installed underground. However, improving existing road tunnel links is providing a very large part of the business for this specialised construction segment at present.
    Read More
  • A new tunnel project for Turkey is a significant move
    December 12, 2012
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supplying a finance package worth US$150 million for the new Bosphorus crossing project in Turkey. Running under the Bosphorus at Istanbul, the new tunnel will connect both European and Asian sides of the city. The EBRD’s $150 million loan completes $1.4 billion worth of financing required for the Eurasia Tunnel project, being built under the Bosphorus straits. Other components of the $1.4 billion financing package for this PPP project include a
    Read More
  • Important road works for Slovakia
    July 6, 2023
    Important road connection works are underway for Slovakia.
    Read More
  • Building the Pfänder tunnes
    February 10, 2012
    The second tube of the Pfänder Tunnel, Bregenz, Austria, where the new main tunnel has been excavated using a tunnel boring machine (TBM), is being constructed by Alpine BeMo Tunnelling. Tubbings have been installed as the inner tunnel lining, and as part of concreting for the inner shell, the FQ 1 crosscut, suitable for vehicles, is being constructed using a tunnel formwork carriage designed and supplied by PERI.
    Read More

Highlighted Content