Share reorganization in sight for M4 Spa, the joint-stock company established on 16 December 2014 by the Municipality of Milan, a majority public shareholder and private shareholders (the main one is the Webuild group, formerly Salini Impregilo) for the construction of line 4 of the underground of Milan, the so-called blue line. According to the Sole 24 Ore, the private shareholders would be oriented to sell their respective shares and exit the capital. Infrastructure private equity funds could take over. The current shareholder structure of M4 is made up of a public shareholder, the Municipality of Milan, with 66.667% of the shares and the following private shareholders: the builder Webuild (9.634%); Astaldi (9.634%), a company that was recently integrated into the Webuild group; Hitachi Rail Sts (11.293%); Sirti (0.339%); Atm (2.333%) and AnsaldoBreda (0.1%). The cost of the work, carried out through project finance, is approximately 1.8 billion euros, of which 958 million euros from the State, 461 from private individuals and 400 from the Municipality of Milan. According to rumors gathered in financial circles, the shareholders of M4 evaluate, as is obvious, every option to enhance their shareholding. Any opportunities must be evaluated by the respective competent bodies.
The future M4 line will connect the San Cristoforo railway station, south west quadrant of Milan, with Linate airport, east of the city, crossing the entire city center. At the moment the opening remains an unknown, but it is very likely that we will have to wait another year. When it comes into operation, the M4 will allow you to connect the heart of Milan (San Babila-Duomo) to Linate, which already boasts the nickname of the most convenient airport in Europe, in just 15 minutes. Complicating the scenario was the pandemic, with the related collapse of air traffic. Some time ago the then Milan City Councilor for Mobility, Marco Granelli, said: “We will activate the service of the M4 line when the conditions are right and we believe, considering today’s data from Linate, that these conditions may exist when the line will reach Dateo, that is towards the end of 2022. The connection with Dateo means the connection with the railway link and with the different districts of the city and therefore the use of the subway would be valid not only for Linate ».
The first section, between Linate and Forlanini, has passed all tests and would be ready to go into operation. But the municipal administration has decided not to open the line yet due to the currently still low number of passengers at Linate airport, despite the summer increase due to holiday departures. For the Dateo station, the expected completion date is September 2022: to this date the three months delay due to the closure of Covid must be added, therefore it will go to the end of 2022. The final section of the M4, which will arrive at the terminus of San Cristoforo, it is the one that pays for the heaviest delays, because the three months due to Covid must be added to those due to archaeological finds in the De Amicis area.
The fact remains that the M4 construction site (21 stations, 15 kilometers in length) represents an extraordinary opportunity for around 1,200 companies, including suppliers and subcontractors, who are alongside Webuild for the construction of a work destined to change the mobility of Milan. The supply chain of companies at work, for a contract value that exceeds 750 million euros, is largely made up of companies from Northern Italy (939), followed by 149 companies from the Center and 93 from the South. range from Fondamenta and Saos, engaged in soil consolidation and special foundation works, to Mosconi, in charge of fine-tuning the tunnel waterproofing system, to Gcf Generale Costruzioni Ferroviarie, which accompanies Webuild in laying the tracks and switches . All trains on the M4 will be driverless.