Italy approves $15.5B plan for longest suspension bridge to Sicily • FRANCE 24 English

Italy approves $15.5B plan for longest suspension bridge to Sicily • FRANCE 24 English

Italy’s government has approved plans uh to construct a bridge linking the island of Sicily to the mainland. The structure, which would be some 3.7 kilometers in length, has been under discussion for decades as a tool to develop the south. Prime Minister Georgia Maloney has year mark 13.5 billion euros over the next decade for the project. We can go across to Crown 24’s Sema Gupta standing by in Rome. Sema, this bridge has been under discussion since the 60s, I believe. Why has it just been approved? You’re absolutely right. There have been decades of planning and discussion about this project. The project has been mired in controversy and has had several false starts. Now uh that’s because you have to look at the actual towns that are linking these two uh this bridge that is being proposed and now been approved. Uh it’s the town of Msina in Sicily uh to Villa San Joani in Calabria. that’s on the Italian mainland and it’s been shelved many times because there have been concerns about the cost this time of round as you mentioned 13.5 billion euros it’s the projected cost now there have been questions about the wisdom of such a project particularly from environmental groups what impact is this going to have on the strait that divides these two side as well as the coastal regions uh regions uh of the two sides then you have the residents of both sides saying well what is the construction going to do to their homes in their area and then of course the people who run the feries because currently of course that’s exactly how people get across from the mainland to Sicily and back. It’s the ferry operators. Then of course you have the whole question of this entire area is very seismic. It’s prone to earthquakes. Back in 1908 there was a devastating earthquake that hit Msina and more than half of the population was actually killed as a result of that. So uh how safe is such a project? And then of course uh the issue of infiltration of organized crime. Such a project is going to take many years. It’s going to involve lots of money and both Sicily and Calabria have uh deeply rooted mafia cultures. So the concern how much of infiltration there is going to be uh in terms of mass mafia in on on such a massive project. Now you have one Green Party MP saying that this is just nothing but a colossal waste of money and that the regions uh both Calabria and Sicily which are part of Italy’s poorer south need more infrastructure, transportation, health needs. There are several other needs that they have and that a bridge won’t exactly solve those problems. You mentioned this Sema that it’s going to cost some 13.5 billion euros. What exactly are authorities hoping to achieve uh from this project? Well, the government of Georgia Maloney has been very clear. First off, they say that this this project is cutting edge and it will be safe. Uh that’s what they say. They also said, you know, they’re going to be two railway lines and three lanes of traffic. So, it’s going to boost Sicily and boost the economy in terms of growth and that it will result, they’re saying, in tens of thousands of new jobs. just the very uh construction of the bridge. Now, Mr. Salvini has also said that the government intends to be vigilant as far as any potential mafia infiltration. They said we can’t let that possibility uh prevent any such projects. And what’s interesting, some people say, well, these massive projects, they’re often announced and they never actually materialize. But there, the government is saying this time around they’re going to put this project under defense spending. Italy like several countries that are part of NATO have been pushed uh by the Trump administration to boost their percentage of defense spending and that includes infrastructure projects and this uh bridge will fall under that category because Sicily the island of Sicily does host a NATO base. So they’re saying that this project will be completed and uh they want to see it happen because they believe the government believes government of Georgia Milani that this will actually uh boost the growth of the poorer south in Italy. Okay. It’ll be interesting to see if it does in fact boost investment. Thank you very much for that. See Masimup reporting there

Italy cleared the way Wednesday to build the world’s largest suspension bridge linking the Italian mainland with Sicily in a massive 13.5 billion euro ($15.5 billion) infrastructure project that has been long delayed by debates over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental impact and the spectre of mafia interference. FRANCE 24’s correspondent Seema Gupta has more from Rome.
#Italy #Sicily #bridge

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