Austrian construction group Strabag SE (STR.VI) said Thursday it will lead a consortium for the construction of a railway tunnel with a contract value of EUR570M.

Construction of the Koralm railway tunnel in Austria will begin in early 2011 and is scheduled for completion at end-2018. The rail tunnel is the main section of a link between Graz and Klagenfurt, and will be 32.5 kilometers long, the longest rail tunnel in Austria.

The company is already active in the Swiss Gotthard tunnel construction.

-By Frankfurt Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725 500; djnews.frankfurt@dowjones.com