The contract is for rail signalling, telecommunications and power supply systems for the coastal line from Ras Ajdir to Sirt and the inland line from Al-Hisha to Sabha.

It will cover around 1,450 km of line in total. The agreement was signed in Tripoli, in the presence of the Chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, the Libyan Transport Minister Muhammad Ali Zidane, the Italian Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs On. Stefania Craxi, the Chairman of Libyan Railroads Said Mohammed Rashid and the CEO of Ansaldo STS Sergio De Luca.

Also present at the event were the CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato Mauro Moretti, the Italian Ambassador in Libya Francesco Trupiano and the Ambassador of Libya in Italy Abdulhafed Gaddur.

This deal means that Finmeccanica becomes the main partner of Libyan Railroads for the building of the new national rail network.

Chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica Pier Francesco Guarguaglini commented: "Signing this contract should open up important industrial and commercial opportunities for our Group in the railways sector.

Finmeccanica's technological excellence in transport, security and energy is an important opportunity for a rapidly developing Country that has recently finalised a strategic contract with Italy".

The Libyan railways project will entail the application of the most advanced technology in the field, such as ERTMS/ETCS supplied by Ansaldo STS, and GSM-R, provided by SELEX Communications.

Finmeccanica is the main Italian industrial group operating globally in the aerospace, defence and security sectors, and is one of the world's leading groups in the fields of helicopters and defence electronics. It is also the European leader for satellite and space services as well as having considerable know-how and production capacity in the energy and transport fields.

Headquartered in Italy and with a vast industrial base in the UK as well as important production facilities in the rest of Europe and in the USA, Finmeccanica has a workforce of more than 73,000 people, and a revenues volume of euro mil. 15,037.

Technology and innovation are the keystones of Finmeccanica's success and competitive edge. For this reason, the Group invests 1,809 billion euros a year in R&D activities (representing 14% of revenues), making Finmeccanica the leading Italian investor in hi-tech sectors. As far as the core business is concerned, investments amount to 20% of turnover - a percentage that is higher than some of its main competitors.

A large part of R&D investment is channelled into dual technology projects, leading to significant advantages in civil applications of considerable strategic importance. To maintain its leadership in hi-tech sectors, Finmeccanica focuses on the value of its human resources, and the laboratories of its subsidiaries are staffed by around 3,000 highly specialized researchers.