Thousands protest bridge linking Sicily to Italy
Thousands of people walked in Messina, the city of Sicily to protest a controversial government plan to build a bridge to connect Italian mainland with Sicily.
Protestors are decisively opposing the infrastructure project of 13.5 billion-EURO (A23.8 billion), according to the scale, earthquake threats, environmental impact and mafia intervention ghost.
The idea of building a bridge to connect Sicily to the rest of Italy has been discussed for decades, but has always been delays.
However, the project took a big step when a government committee that controls strategic public investments approved the plan this week.
Matteo Salvini, the main political supporter of the project, named it the ı largest infrastructure project in the West ”.
Salvini talked about the studies that predicted that the project would create up to 120,000 business per year and would help to encourage economic growth in southern Italy, because billions more investments have been made in the surrounding roads and infrastructure improvements.
Competitors are not convinced by these arguments.
They are also angry that it should be expropriated to build about 500 families.
“The Strait of Messina cannot be touched,” the protesters shouted while walking in Messina.
Many of them carried the poster (no bridge), who said “no pontes”.
Organizers estimated the crowded size as 10,000 people.
The proposed bridge would spread about 3.7 kilometers with a suspended section of 3.3 kilometers.
In order to become the longest hanging bridge in the world, Türkiye would exceed 1.2 kilometers of Canakkale Bridge.
The preliminary study may be approved by the Italian Audit Court and begin in late September or early October.
Full construction is planned to start and complete the construction in 2026 between 2032 and 2033.
Since the Italian government for the first time in 1969, a bridge plans have been approved and canceled.
Premier Giorgia Meloni’s administration revived the project in 2023.
In all directions, three car strips surrounded by a double -way railway, the bridge would have a capacity of 6000 cars and 200 trains per hour, and the vehicle would reduce the drowning time from 100 minutes to 10 minutes.
The project may also support the commitment of Italy’s defense expenditures to five percent of the Gross Domestic Product targeted by NATO, because the government said it would classify the bridge regarding defense.
Italy argues that the bridge will create a strategic corridor for rapid unity movements and equipment deployment and call it a “security -enhancing infrastructure ..
However, the environmental groups filed a complaint with the European Union, stating concerns that the project would affect migrant birds.
Italy’s president also insisted that the project will be subject to anti -mafia legislation, which is valid for all large -scale infrastructure projects.
Salvini has committed the biggest priority to keep the organized crime away from the project.
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