Italy’s government has approved a project to build the world’s longest suspension bridge that will connect Sicily to the Italian mainland.
The Italian government said the proposed bridge spanning the Strait of Messina will be a security asset.
The proposed bridge spanning the Strait of Messina will measure 2 miles in length. To withstand the strait’s strong winds and currents, engineers have designed the bridge with two 1,310-foot-tall steel towers, eliminating the need for a central tower in the sea.
The project will cost an estimated €13.5 billion, equivalent to around $15.6 billion, and it will become operational in the early 2030s, Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said Wednesday.
The Italian government said the bridge will be a security asset, which allows it to categorize the project as a military expense and count it toward its NATO spending commitments. This comes as Italy, along with other European nations, has pledged to increase its military spending to 5% of its GDP over the next decade.
The bridge will include a rail connection that will allow Italy to mobilize its armed forces more quickly to the strategically important Mediterranean outpost. “It is clear that it can have a dual use, also for security purposes,” Salvini said.
Italy’s Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
Webuild, an Italian general contractor that previously worked on expanding the Panama Canal, is leading the consortium that will build the bridge. The company said the bridge will include six traffic lanes and two railway tracks, and will have a lifespan of 200 years.
A bridge connecting the island to the mainland was first imagined in the 19th century as a way of fostering national unity and economic development. A report commissioned in the 1950s suggested either an underwater tunnel or a suspension bridge could be built.
Silvio Berlusconi approved a plan to build a bridge when he was prime minister, but the project was canceled after he lost the 2001 general election. He tried to revive the project in 2011, but it was again axed because it was deemed financially unsustainable. Critics have long argued that the money would be better spent elsewhere and that it could cause environmental damage.
World’s Longest Suspension Bridge to Link Sicily to Mainland Italy
Get the latest headlines from US news and global updates from Pakistan, Nepal, UK, Bangladesh, Russia and US Iran war Live, get all the latest headlines in one place on Hindustan Times.
Home/World News/World’s Longest Suspension Bridge To Link Sicily To Mainland Italy
E-Paper
