Meloni’s cabinet wants to build controversial bridge to Sicily Chinese businessman linked to Trump adviser accused of billion-dollar fraud

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet has revived a controversial multibillion-dollar bridge project to connect Sicily to the mainland. The cabinet approved a similar decree on Thursday, which parliament has 60 days to turn into law.

The 3.2-kilometer bridge “will represent the flagship of Italian engineering,” said Transport Minister Matteo Salvini. The idea of ​​such a bridge goes back to the time of the Roman Empire. Subsequent attempts to tackle the project failed.

Meloni’s right-wing coalition believes the bridge is key to boosting the economy in the country’s poorer south. However, there are doubts about their structural viability in the seismic area between Messina and Calabria, due to the environmental impact and due to the high cost.

Construction could start as early as mid-2024

The project, last considered in 2011, would be “adapted to new technical, safety and environmental standards,” Salvini assured. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose government had strongly supported the project in the 2000s and whose Forza Italia party is now part of the governing coalition, said on Thursday that such a structure would “link Sicily not only to Calabria, but to Italy and all of Italy”. would connect Europe”. “. According to Berlusconi, construction could start as early as mid-2024.

Currently, the only way to get from the island to the mainland is by ferry or plane. Proponents of the plan claim that the bridge, equipped with rails, could reduce pollution and save time in transporting people and goods. However, environmentalists reject the plans and favor electrification of the region’s existing train network. (sda/afp)