The preliminary services conference
for the construction of the Messina Bridge has been convened on
April 16, marking the official start of the bureaucratic
procedure for the massive infrastructure project linking the
island region of Sicily to mainland Italy, the transport and
infrastructure ministry said in a statement on Friday.
If all goes to plan, the building sites will be set up by the
end of the year.
Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure and Transport Minister
Matteo Salvini, was said to be "very pleased and confident that
the discussion will lead to the definition of the activities as
soon as possible".
Salvini has pushed strongly for the construction of what will be
the world's longest suspension bridge, a project mooted by
successive centre-right governments but never actually started
due to environmental and seismic concerns and the significant
cost.
The bridge currently has a price tag of some 14.6 billion euro
($16.14 billion), or about one percent of Italian GDP, and is
scheduled to come into use in the late 2030s.
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