A-Infos (en) Italy, Sicilia Libertaria: BRIDGE OVER THE STRAIT, the work that shatters territories and communities - Corrado Speziale (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The bridge over the Strait of Messina returns to being an affair 
suspended on a span that oscillates between unscrupulous and predatory 
policies on the one hand, and economic interests benefiting the few on 
the other. In the middle, the acquiescence of many citizens, often 
deprived of awareness and unaware of what really happens between the 
secret rooms of power. In this sense, there is no doubt about how much 
reasonableness, common sense and above all good politics, with a few 
exceptions, on this topic have always abandoned this splendid corner of 
the world, the Strait of Messina.

A few days ago, the shock that almost like an "earthquake", an event 
tragically known in these parts, disturbed the inhabitants: between the 
shores of Sicily and Calabria the infamous project of the mega stable 
crossing project rematerialized Strict. Which this time does not go 
unnoticed, since the Notice of initiation of the procedure aimed at 
affixing the expropriation restriction has in fact shaken around 450 
families, who would be deprived of homes and properties in general, but 
above all, of their most loved ones. rooted and deep. Because the 
"devastation" that would result would affect the history and dignity of 
entire communities. To the surprise of many, the bridge does not only 
pass over the heads of the inhabitants of Messina and Villa San 
Giovanni, but rather over 29 municipalities, between Sicily and 
Calabria. "Only" 14, however, are those interested in expropriations. 
But let's go in order.

The contract with Eurolink, an association of general contractor 
companies that had been awarded the design and construction of the work, 
expired in 2013. As a consequence, Stretto di Messina Spa, a state 
concessionaire created ad hoc in 1981, owned by Anas , RFI, Calabria 
Region and Sicilian Region, no longer had any reason to exist. So, 
having burned over 300 million euros over the years, in the absence of 
an additional act that would guarantee the sustainability of the 
economic and financial plan for the construction of the infamous work, 
the curtain had finally fallen on the bridge affair. The Monti 
Government had decided this, with the administration and liquidation of 
the "Stretto" company. But Eurolink and the American Parsons, consultant 
on the project, have initiated legal proceedings with the concessionaire 
company, and therefore against the State, at the Civil Court of Rome. At 
stake are substantial amounts of indemnities and penalties which, based 
on certain calculations, and above all claims, for Eurolink alone would 
have exceeded 700 million euros. The decision of the Government of the 
time, which went down in history for its particular affection for the 
spending review, effectively stifled the ambitions of Berlusconi & Co., 
who were counting on the "objective law" to rout any opposition, whether 
technical-bureaucratic or political. The work, even before it was born, 
collapsed, both under the blows of the opposition from below led by the 
No bridge movements on the banks of the Strait, and under the choices of 
a government aware of the absence of both public and private capital, 
necessary for the construction and management of the infrastructure.

Case closed? Not really, because on the bridge the attitude of politics, 
regardless of the parties, is clear: those in government have always 
supported the work, those in opposition have always declared themselves 
against it. First of all, Minister Salvini and his party: from no to 
yes. Conversely, there are parties that have gone from yes to no, like 
the Democratic Party. It is clear that for those who govern the 
operation it is too attractive to stay out of it, regardless. Thus, 
while everything seemed to be in jeopardy, with the ongoing dispute 
which saw the State winning in first instance over the general 
contractor, the Meloni Government, in this case the Minister of 
Infrastructure Salvini, put in place a measure of rare incorrectness and 
illegitimacy: the Decree -Law 31 March 2023 n. 35, to which, as such, 
among other things, the essential requirements of necessity and urgency 
are attributed. The most controversial public work in Italian history, 
which failed before it was born, since 1981, has been treated in the 
same way as an accidental and unpredictable event. The decree, not 
before having suffered authoritative, burning attacks and criticism in 
the Environment and Transport Commission of the Chamber, by, among 
others, the president of the Anti-Corruption Authority, was converted 
into Law 26 May 2023, n. 58. The ANAC, from the first moment, noted the 
existence of significant shortcomings and inconsistencies to the 
advantage of the private entity compared to the public one. First of 
all, the non-existence of prior acceptance by the general contractor to 
waive the litigation initiated following the closure of the previous 
contract. While regarding the award, disagreements emerge in the 
application of the regulations, in relation to the project amount as it 
would be increased, in the absence of a new tender. Added to this is the 
corporate composition of the general contractor, now led by Webuild, a 
Salini group, which has changed over time following various corporate 
events. For one thing: even those who lost the tender would now be 
awarded the contract together with the old contenders, with the 
possibility that the amount would exceed the limit imposed by law.

In all of this, the Stretto di Messina company is resurrected from its 
ashes, in which the Ministry of Economy enters fully, with an absolute 
majority of the capital, which will exercise its powers in agreement 
with the Ministry of Infrastructure. A centralization of no small 
importance. And the project? An integrative report expected by 30 
September last year would have resolved the update problem. But the same 
was "spread" over five versions. The latest, on 20 January 2024. The 
act, in its progress, not made available at the request of the 
parliamentarians of AVS and the Democratic Party, is the subject of 
investigation at the Rome prosecutor's office following a complaint from 
the parliamentarians themselves. Over time, the renewed Scientific 
Committee of Stretto di Messina Spa issued its opinion on the 
"Designer's Report" on January 29th: the document is full of 
considerations, observations and recommendations. The latter alone are 
68 and concern fundamental topics such as the stability and safety of 
the work. However, the experts express a "positive opinion", subject to 
a host of problems. So, what are we talking about?

Already in house, the project is considered lacking the requirements for 
it to be defined as definitive. So, it is necessary to take stock of 
some data. The Ministry of Infrastructure resurrects the bridge project, 
which is being updated, in which according to "observers", around 95 
percent of the documents date back to the old version, 2011-2012. Both 
the project and the contract are re-awarded without a new tender. The 
cost of the work, included in the Def, is 14.6 billion euros, but 11.6 
billion euros were foreseen in the latest budget law. The difference 
could avoid the impasse for the new award. Is everything calculated? 1.6 
billion euros will come from Sicily and Calabria, funds stolen from the 
Development and Cohesion Fund: precious money for infrastructure and 
essential services. As for the planning process, almost simultaneously, 
since the beginning of March documents and documents have been pouring 
in in digital version which affect offices, local authorities, 
associations and above all thousands of citizens, on three dimensions: 
the opening of the services conference for the collection of opinions on 
the Definitive project; the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure; 
the Notice of initiation of expropriation proceedings. There is an 
unprecedented acceleration of procedures regarding a public work. In 
general, design shortcomings of all kinds refer to the executive project 
to come. Perhaps. Fundamental technical-economic documents are missing 
and many of those presented are illegible. The race against time begins: 
on 16 April the services conference began at the Ministry of 
Infrastructure. April 13 was the last day for submitting observations in 
the context of the EIA at this stage. Sixty days, starting from April 3, 
is the period within which observations can be made regarding the 
expropriations. On this last aspect, information and counter-information 
interface in Messina: on the one hand the employees of the Stretto di 
Messina Spa, on the other, the activists of the No Ponte Capo Peloro 
committee. On the first day of opening of the desk at the "Antonello" 
Palaculture, while inside some "expropriated persons" were received for 
the relevant information, outside the militants of the committee, in a 
participatory sit-in, disseminated useful information to anyone would 
request: "Expropriate, no thanks!".

Therefore, to clarify this phase: "Any expropriation procedure can be 
started only after the approval of the definitive project, with the 
related declaration of public utility by the CIPESS - Inter-ministerial 
Committee for economic planning and sustainable development". The 
message is "We are all expropriated". The whole city would be 
"expropriated". Messina is affected from south to north, from Contesse 
to Torre Faro. A very hard reality to accept, considering that until 
yesterday the bridge seemed exclusive only to this last location, namely 
Capo Peloro. The single-span bridge over the Strait is 3 kilometers and 
300 meters long, supported by two towers, each 399 meters high. All 
this, in one of the areas with the highest seismic risk in the 
Mediterranean, where, among other things, impetuous and turbulent winds 
rage. An underground railway line of over 18 kilometers is planned that 
crosses the city longitudinally, passing through three stations located 
on viale Europa, Annunziata and Papardo. The motorway link, over 11 
kilometres, in turn, would start from the Giostra junction. Among 
operational construction sites, areas for underground stations, storage 
and environmental recovery sites, logistics construction sites and 
available areas, there are 23 sites. An enormity of spaces and risks, 
considering the hydrogeological fragility of the Messina area, which on 
1 October 2009 counted 37 victims in the Giampilieri flood.

The most significant observations within the EIA, developed in the short 
time frame allowed, of just 30 days, were drawn up by the associations 
Italia Nostra, Kyoto Club, Legambiente, Lipu, Man and WWF. They were 
joined by the expertise of the association Instead of the bridge and the 
No bridge Capo Peloro committee. 38 experts from all over Italy worked 
in synergy, including 12 university professors from 9 different 
universities. "The documentation presented in the EIA by the proponents 
relating to the Environmental Impact Study and contextual impact study 
on the sites of the Natura 2000 Network, in no way can legitimize a 
definitive project that does not present all the necessary geognostic, 
hydrological, seismic, agronomic investigations , biological, chemical, 
naturalistic, landscape", the observers write among other things. "The 
definitive 2024 project has been neither updated nor integrated, with 
exhaustive responses to the 18 requirements only partially fulfilled 
according to the EIA technical commission in 2013". The project, in 
light of the counterarguments, is "widely incomplete in its responses to 
the request for additions which leaves the negative impact assessment 
expressed in 2013 unsurpassed". The observers then focus on the seismic 
aspects and those relating to wind stresses. As for the cost-benefit 
analysis, they recognize that "the construction of the bridge, in 
addition to entailing a very significant burden on the public coffers, 
also generates economic benefits lower than the costs with losses of 
approximately 1.5 billion euros". Then, given the type of work, the 
observation you don't expect: "The definitive project is not accompanied 
by updated transport studies and traffic flows, postponed to the 
future...". And again, there are gaps with respect to the Preventive 
Assessment of Archaeological Interest, "identical to 2012" and 
irregularities with respect to the landscape plan: "The construction 
sites would replace the territory, erasing it". The Impact Assessment is 
disregarded, among other things, with the underestimation of the 
deviation of the canal that connects the lakes and flows into the 
Strait, in the middle of a natural reserve, where the tower is planned 
on the Sicilian shore. Also in this context, the devastating 
consequences on migratory birds are described, given that these are 
Special Protection Areas. Not least, the impact dictated by the high 
quality of water needed to get the construction sites up and running, in 
the face of Messina's water problems and the crisis that lies ahead in 
Sicily.

But above all, the aspect of health protection is disturbing: 
"Cardiorespiratory and tumor pathologies associated with environmental 
pollution were detected as early as 2013. A minimally credible HIA - 
Health Impact Assessment is not produced for the EIA 2024". The response 
from the Technical Commission for the verification of the environmental 
impact of the Ministry of the Environment was not long in coming: 239 
additions were requested. How else could we call serious design 
shortcomings in the environmental field? How do you comply with this 
mass of critical issues? Therefore, assuming there were still doubts, 
the bridge is unsustainable. We learn of a phone call from the CEO of 
the Strait of Messina Ciucci to Salvini, complete with a request for 
clarifications for the ministry's decision.

Reflection: on the project, in the immediate future, the competent 
offices, both central and territorial, net of the risk of being 
partially or totally deprived of their technical-administrative 
functions, will experience hard times. The bridge is a political issue. 
According to Salvini's plans, the CIPESS should express its opinion on 
June 30, but the times will be postponed. The hearing for the resolution 
of the dispute with Eurolink is scheduled for 14 October. The laying of 
the first stone, initially scheduled for next summer, according to the 
minister will now have to take place by the end of 2024. But it won't be 
easy. "There is no doubt that we are undergoing a process of 
militarization of cities. There is only one antidote to this announced 
tragedy, and that is the No Bridge fight", write the militants who 
recognize themselves in the collective that meets in Messina, at the No 
Bridge Space.

Corrado Speziale

https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
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