Italy has approved a $15.5bn suspension bridge which will connect the mainland to the island of Sicily.<\/p>\n
Italy has given final approval to a long-delayed plan to construct the world\u2019s longest suspension bridge, connecting the mainland to Sicily in a project worth \u20ac13.5bn ($15.5bn).<\/p>\n
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini hailed the Strait of Messina Bridge as \u201cthe biggest infrastructure project in the West\u201d after a key government committee cleared the path on Wednesday. He said the project would generate 120,000 jobs annually and revitalise southern Italy through wider investment in infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Preliminary work could begin as early as October, pending a green light from Italy\u2019s court of audit, with construction expected to start in 2026. Salvini estimated the bridge could be completed by 2033.<\/p>\n
With a span of 3.3km, the bridge would surpass Turkey\u2019s Canakkale Bridge and carry six lanes of traffic and two railway lines, cutting the current 100-minute ferry crossing to just 10 minutes by car.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the bridge would become \u201can engineering symbol of global significance\u201d.<\/p>\n
The project, first proposed in 1969, has stalled repeatedly due to environmental objections, mafia fears and seismic risks. The design is inspired by Turkiye\u2019s Canakkale structure, featuring a wing-shaped deck meant to improve stability in high winds.<\/p>\n
Defence or development?<\/p>\n
Rome says the bridge could help it meet NATO\u2019s defence spending goals by classifying it as \u201cdual-use\u201d infrastructure, a designation that has caused controversy.<\/p>\n
More than 600 academics warned that such a move would require further military safety assessments and could make the bridge a potential target.<\/p>\n
Salvini said it was up to the defence and economy ministries to decide, but insisted \u201ckeeping organised crime out of the project is the top priority\u201d.<\/p>\n
Environmental groups, meanwhile, have raised complaints with the European Union, warning of potential disruption to migratory birds and a lack of proof that the project meets public interest thresholds.<\/p>\n
The bridge contract was awarded to Webuild, the same firm that won the initial bid in 2006 before the plan was cancelled. The company says its design will withstand earthquakes, pointing to similar bridges in Japan and California.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bridge will be transformative for the whole country,\u201d said Webuild CEO Pietro Salini.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Italy has approved a $15.5bn suspension bridge which will connect the mainland to the island of Sicily. Italy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12633,5168,1700,299,1234,6084,2199,839,12,1263,461,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-325168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-business-and-economy","9":"tag-construction","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-government","13":"tag-infrastructure","14":"tag-italy","15":"tag-middle-east","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-transport","18":"tag-turkey","19":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114987498441983128","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}