Doubt over construction of world’s longest suspension bridge build after court ruling

The €13.5 billion (US$15.7 billion) project had already won political approval in Rome and Italian contractor Webuild, which leads the Eurolink consortium appointed to build it, announced just days ago that it would start hiring thousands of people ahead of its construction.

But the project, still needed approval from the Corte dei Conti, which controls public spending in the country, as well as from environmental agencies at both national and European Union level.

The Corte dei Conti’s move casts doubt over the future of the project. The court did not immediately give reasons for its decision but in hearings on Wednesday (29 October), legal counsel questioned whether the tender, originally carried out in 2005, was still valid, and pointed to surging projected costs.

Italy’s infrastructure minister Matteo Salvini called on the government to ignore the court’s decision and argued that the local economy depends on the plan.

Salvini told Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra, “My proposal is to return to the cabinet and approve the project again. Then parliament will approve it.

“Billions are at stake here, hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake, and thousands of companies are ready to go. Stopping us is absurd.”

The government can choose to bypass the ruling and move ahead with the project, however, that raises the prospect of legal action from the project’s opponents further down the line.

Critics have concerns that the project will harm the environment and have pointed to the history of earthquakes in the region.

The Eurolink consortium was appointed to build the project, originally projected to cost €3.8 billion, 20 years ago. Webuild leads the consortium which also includes Spain’s Sacyr and Japan’s IHI.