Rome has given final approval to the € 13.5BN ($ 15.6BN) project for the construction of the world’s longest suspension bridge, connecting the Sicily island from the region of Sicily at the tip of Italy’s boot.
Designers claim the bridge – which is the most seismic in the Mediterranean built on one of the most active areas – will be able to withstand earthquakes.
This is the latest attempt by Italian officials to launch the Messina Bridge project – many have tried over years, but later the plans have been abolished due to costs, environmental damage, safety or potential mafia medaling.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has admitted that the most recent project is not easy.
However, she said on Wednesday that she considers it to “invest in Italy’s current and future”.
“We enjoy tough challenges when they understand,” said Meloni.
According to the final project, the bridge at Messina Strait will spread between 3.3 km (2.05 mi) and two 400-meters (1,300 ft) high towers, two railway lines will run in between and there will be three lanes of traffic on both sides.
Rome is expecting classifying the bridge as a military expenditure to count the NATO target of 5% of the GDP spent on defense.
Matto Salvini, a party leader and a government ally of Meloni, celebrated a milestone, stating that the target was to complete the bridge between 2032 and 2033.
He also claimed that the bridge would produce 120,000 jobs in a year and would have economic development in the area. The areas of Sicilia and Calabria are the poorest in Europe.
However, the project should still be rubber-stamped by auditors of the Italian court as well as environmental agencies both national and European Union.
Local residents whose properties can be abolished on both sides of the Strait, they also have to consult and legally challenge the decision, meaning that the construction of the bridge may be delayed or a completely stall.
This will not be the first time that the bridge building has been held. Since the first schemes for this were prepared more than 50 years ago, various ideas have been sheltered for various reasons and have faced harsh opposition for a long time.
This includes concerns that a large amount of taxpayers’ money will be taken away by Sicilian and Celibron Mafia, which has a widespread impact on politics and society in southern Italy.
On Wednesday, local politicians reiterated their unhappiness with the government’s decision.
Democratic Party (PD) senator Nikola Irat called the project “controversial and divisive”, saying that it would “bend important resources from local transport, modern infrastructure, safe schools and quality health facilities”.
Villa San Geoani’s Mayor Gius Caminity where the bridge will be built on the Calabarian bank, said that its city would be badly affected and more time would be requested for consultation.
The Grassroots Calabarian Committee “No to the Bridge” slammed the Wednesday’s announcement and said it was a political exercise rather than a completely technical evaluation result.
Local groups opposing the bridge also say that its construction will use millions of liters of water in a day, while both Sicili and Celibria regularly struggle with drought.
Currently, the only way to cross the Strait for trains is to drop the coaches on the ghats and move over the sea in a 30 -minute journey.
