Italy hopes to build Sicily with the largest suspension bridge in the world this summer, as it will build widespread skepticism.
The 13.5 billion euro ($15.3 billion) project will carry trains and six lanes, allowing cars to cross the Strait of Messina in 15 minutes.
Giorgia Meloni’s tough government wants to promote economies in impoverished areas, although critics say there are better ways to do this – many believe that after decades of false starts, the bridge will actually never happen.
The stormy water between the eastern end of Sicily and the western edge of the Calabria region is legendary, where monsters Scylla and Charybdis scare sailors in Homer’s epic poem “Odyssey”.
Today, the challenge is even more bland, from over 100 km/h (62 mph) to the real risk of earthquakes in areas on both tectonic plates.
The government said the bridge will be at the forefront of the project, with the part hanging from 3.3 kilometers between its two pillars, the longest in the world.
But critics point out that both due to corruption or political unrest, the announcement in Italy that financing and a long history of never-ending has caused huge losses to taxpayers.
“The public distrusts this political class and these projects that have become endless construction sites,” said Luigi Storniolo, a member of the protest group No Ponte (No Bridge).
Matteo Salvini, one of the main champions of the project, insisted that it would be a game-changer for the local economy.
“This bridge will be a catalyst for development,” he said in a visit to the city where the bridge will begin recently, Reggio di Calabria.
– “A meaningless project” –
According to regional authorities, the government hopes to increase trade in Sicily, and the current annual “isolation cost” is about 6.5 billion euros.
Meloni ministers are expected to finalize the project later this month – Rome will fund it, with Salvini insisting that the construction will begin this summer.
However, work had been announced in the summer of 2024, and then postponed, a common theme in the history of the bridge, whose ideas can be traced back to the unification of Italy in the late 19th century.
The first law of the project was adopted in 1971. Since then, successive governments have either resumed the project or canceled it.
In 2012, the idea seemed absolutely abandoned in the eurozone debt crisis and was only restored again in the Meloni government that took office in 2022.
Salvini has repeatedly stated that the bridge will create 120,000 jobs in Calabria and Sicily, with the EU ranked fourth and 13th unemployment rates for young people under the age of 29 respectively.
However, the left-wing CGIL union estimates that about 2,300 workers will be employed annually during the project, and critics say the jobs created will be offset by the long-term losses from ferry closures.
– Mafia Risk –
The project sparked local protests, with critics warning of impacts on protected marine areas and important bird migration routes.
Storniolo told AFP it was a “meaningless project” and it consumed valuable funds when “our area has suffered a lot of problems … health care, schools and infrastructure.”
Italian auditors also criticized the extent of Italian state investment in the project to assess the 2024 budget.
Protester Storniolo added: “The only hope they want the entire territory to believe it is the bridge, but the bridge has never arrived.”
There are also issues of mafia infiltration.
The Attorney General of Messina recently warned of the risk that organized crime would benefit from the project, noting that “the power of the mafia is hidden…behind the public contract…”.
The government has proposed to place companies related to the project under control of the structure of opposition to the Horse Law that has been reported by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
But Italian President Sergio Mattarella prevented this, saying it was only used for one-time earthquakes or one-time events such as the Olympics.
Salvini argued that the bridge could help solve the mafia and said: “You don’t fight the mafia through meetings and protests…but by creating jobs and bringing hope to young people.”
Str-GAB/AR/IDE/FG
