The Messina Bridge company has
reached an agreement with the European Union to co-finance the
rail links for the proposed structure linking Sicily and
mainland Italy, the company said Monday.
The Società Stretto di Messina and CINEA, the Climate,
Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency of the European
Commission signed a Grant Agreement for the EU to cover 50% of
the executive design costs of the rail infrastructure of what
would be the world's longest suspension bridge, to the tune of
some 25 million euros.
"The signing of the Grant Agreement," commented the CEO of the
Strait of Messina Company, Pietro Ciucci, "together with the
recent inclusion of the Bridge in the
'Scandinavian-Mediterranean' corridor, by the European Council,
confirms the strategic role of the project for Europe and lays
the foundations for being able to find additional resources to
cover the costs of construction of the work, with a concrete
prospect of reducing the burden on the State budget".
The bridge is currently costed at 4.6 billion euro and is
scheduled to come into use in the early 2030s.
The project, which was first championed by late three-time
ex-premier and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, has been delayed
due to its high cost, environmental concerns, and fears of mafia
infiltration on both sides of the Strait, by 'Ndrangheta in
Calabria and Cosa Nostra in Sicily.
The project's current champion, Deputy Premier and Transport
Minister Matteo Salvini, has said construction sites will open
by the end of the year and it will take seven years to complete
the bridge.
It will span over two miles, or 3.2 km, and become by far the
world's longest suspension bridge.
Currently, the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey holds the record
since opening to traffic in March 2022, with a span of 2,023
metres (6,637 ft).
Since 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan had previously
held the record with a span of 1,991 metres (6,532 ft).
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