EU Queries Italy’s Sicily Bridge Plan Over Environmental Issues

(Bloomberg) -- Italy’s long-delayed plan for a landmark €13.5 billion ($15.9 billion) bridge linking Sicily to the mainland is facing scrutiny from the European Union, with regulators pressing the government for more information on the project’s environmental impact.

A letter written this week by the EU’s executive arm to the Italian government, seen by Bloomberg News, says it has “identified areas on which clarification is needed as well as further measures that should help the Italian authorities” address any “shortcomings” prior to granting development consent or initiating works.

Additionally, the commission would like to discuss the impact on animal habitats, as well as compensation measures, and issues related to water, air and noise.

Although it’s unlikely under the current circumstances that the commission would move to block the project, any delay could add to the timetable for completion of the bridge linking Sicily and Calabria.

In its letter, the European Commission said it has received formal complaints and requests for information from multiple parties, and that the extra information would allow it to respond to those “in the most appropriate manner.”

A European Commission spokesperson confirmed that it’s in touch with the Italian authorities about the Messina bridge project, which was notified to Brussels in June.

In August, the Italian government approved the project to build a 3.6 kilometer (2.2 miles) bridge after decades of false starts. The plan is currently with the country’s Court of Auditors, which is expected to give its opinion by November at the latest. 

Once that happens, work on the surrounding infrastructure, such as railway and highway approaches, can start, followed by construction of the bridge itself. The government has targeted 2032 for completion — a timetable that the letter describes as “ambitious.”

The project has faced stiff resistance from Italy’s political opposition and some resident groups, which say the bridge will destroy the landscape and have significant environmental effects, while giving no real benefit to the local economy, which has long lagged that of the country’s north. Hundreds of families would also lose their properties once construction of the bridge starts.

The bridge is a pet project of the League’s Matteo Salvini, a deputy prime minister and the minister of transport and infrastructure.

His ministry declined to comment. Italy’s environment ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The commission said it was “in touch” with Italian authorities over the project. “All projects implemented in Member States have to abide by EU law,” it said. 

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