In short, according to the minister’s expectations, the bridge will create more than 100,000 jobs. They say that there is no place for mafias. So much so that they debated what Libera’s founder and president Don Luigi Ciotti said in July. Ciotti, accompanied by his Libera, who has always fought the Mafia, was categorical on the project: he spoke of a “forgettable policy” in relation to the anti-Mafia “pillars”, “signs that become troubling which are “strongly under discussion” today, explaining that the bridge “will not only unite the two banks, but certainly the two gangs”.of Sicily and Calabria, edition,
Don Ciotti, referring to the crime, said, “I see that at this moment, with the announcements and with some facts, the pillars that have been built over the years for greater strength in the fight against criminal sports are being undermined.” went.” for official abuse “which is impoverished, eliminated”, but also for interception “for which it is punished, even if some small changes were necessary”, for external competition in the mafia association “which is questioned has been raised and c’ there is a desire to eliminate it”, for the procurement code “which favors all subcontracting, instead of being strict to control this tide of incoming money”.
Salvini responded curtly, calling the sentences “embarrassing”, pronounced with the usual steadiness and awareness by Don Ciotti. The minister replied, “a lack of respect for the millions of respected people who deserve to work, study and commute, go and be treated like everyone else”: “It frustrates me that someone thinks that Sicily and Calabria represents the gang”, so again “there is someone abroad who portrays Italy as the mafia, pizza and mandolins”.
Yet dissatisfaction with this great work is widespread. Thousands of people took to the streets yesterday in Messina to demonstrate against the construction of this work, saying, “It will destroy the city, turning it into a giant construction site. Whole neighborhoods will be destroyed and many People have to leave their homes”. They assure us that we will continue to protest when these construction sites open, probably in July 2024, “and we will not allow anyone to destroy Messina. So far the majority of people are on our side because they understand the inconvenience the city will have to face” attacked Gino Sterniolo, historical representative of the No Ponte network.
“The bridge over the strait – explains Sterniolo – is not a model that will be towed between Sicily and Calabria, but an army of bulldozers and trucks that will occupy our territories and affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of inhabitants on both sides”. “It’s also very strange – continues Sternolio – that when it comes to Ponte, all kinds of regulations are missed, such as the cap on managers’ salaries, a shame at a time when citizenship income should be removed. And many people cannot even eat. We are always up against the same problems of seismicity of the area, environment and construction related inconveniences, we will be vigilant and we will fight the government to desist from its intentions.
The wage cap was a move Salvini strongly wanted and it was included in the government’s last “asset decree” before the summer break. The approved text decided to stop the salary cap at Società per il Ponte sul Strate, flouting the 2016 regulations – which sparked protests – that set a cap of 240 thousand euros on annual salaries. A rule strongly desired by Salvini at MIT, he claims, “to ensure the participation of the best professionals”.
This is the argument of the Palazzo Chigi, therefore: to allow the hiring of highly professional technicians for the bridge over the strait, the range of salaries envisaged for administrators and civil servants has been cut, which has already been done Is. Jubilee or Anas 2.0, explaining that the rule is related to the need to find highly competent super specialists, also from companies such as Anas and RFI.Rete Ferrovia Italiana, for which there is no limit.
In the press conference, Salvini specified that he “excludes” that the reduction in the salary range is related to the Ponte dello Strate company’s board of directors. “The provision is limited to the officers, architects, engineers” who will work on the project. We have approved measures that adjust compensation for people who will work for other companies, I’m thinking of Jubilee Company. If we have to hire an engineer who now works for Anas or RFI, he cannot earn less. It is not for administrators but for officers. So, no controversy, the goal is to include young graduates as well”, he ruled at the end of the Council of Ministers.
But what about the bridge? The final project is estimated to have a total length of 3,666 metres, a column height of 399 metres, and a width of 60.4 metres. “A visionary and pioneering work that should be used for business and tourism as well as at the infrastructure level,” Salvini praised. “Ships pass under it, I guarantee it.” 6 road lanes, 6,000 vehicles per hour, 2 railway tracks, 200 trains per day are planned.
The declaration should be ready by the end of August, the minister announced during a meeting on projects and major works in Rome on July 25. “The opening of the construction site is scheduled for next year, while the construction site is expected to close in 2032. Next autumn’s budget law will be the one that will allocate the most important figures”. The maximum cost for the bridge should be 13 billion, which, Salvini said again, “I remember that it is less than half the cost of the citizenship income so far, which does not leave any mark on the future of the country”.
Regarding the sustainability of the work, Salvini explained that “the bridge will remove 140,000 tons of CO2 emitted into the air. So it is a great green act”. And then: “Italian companies are at the forefront of sustainability” the minister underlined, specifying how the ecological transition “needs time” and must be done “with taxes”. should not be accelerated.”I think that at the end of these 5 years Italy may experience an economic, structural, cultural and social revolution, perhaps we will have to go back to the second post-war period for a similar development” .
Let’s forget for a moment the mistake of the minister, who proudly went live on Facebook to show the 1982 cover of Mickey Mouse, which depicted the bridge. number 1401, issued on 3 October 1982; The year before, the Ponte dello Strato company was established and the first inspections took place. You see an image of the Messina Bridge supported by Scrooge McDuck: “It celebrated construction sites, bridge works across the strait. 41 years pass, there is no trace of the bridge, even though money has already been spent on Italian projects. But it is a right for millions of Sicilians to have territorial continuity without having to wait for boats. We want to answer after 50 years of conversation.” Too bad the bridge collapsed at the end of the story.