Salvini: "The Strait of Messina Bridge could be a major anti-mafia operation."

"After less than three years, the final project for a €13.5 billion project, which provides justice for five million Sicilians and which Europe itself expects and demands, has been approved, is absolutely significant." Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Matteo Salvini said this on the sidelines of the Stretto di Messina Spa board meeting.

"I think it could be a major anti-mafia operation," he added, "because when you bring jobs, hope, and prospects to so many young people in lands that have often been forgotten, we're doing something great." Minister Salvini then noted that "Lombardy is the region that will have the most companies involved in this major project. It's a project that unites the country in every way."

"For two and a half years, we've been carrying out a project that Italy has been waiting for centuries. The bridge over the Strait of Messina has been talked about since Roman times. It's a cutting-edge engineering feat, the longest single-span bridge in the world, which will be studied and admired by engineers around the world. After two and a half years of work, we're at an excellent point—not an arrival point, but a starting point," Salvini explained. "The goal is to have the final project approved next week, with construction work opening by the summer."

"Up to 170 engineers will be arriving from the United States to contribute. Partnerships are in place with the Japanese, Danish, Spanish, and French countries, and above all, many jobs will be created in Italy," the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister continued.

– Photo by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport press office –