Italien vill bygga rekordlång bro för Natopengar
Italien vill att utgifterna för en enorm bro mellan fastlandet och Sicilien ska räknas till Natos nya försvarsutgiftsmål om fem procent, rapporterar Politico.
Italien är ett av de länder i alliansen som spenderar minst på sin militär. Bron ses som ett enkelt sätt för premiärminister Giorgia Meloni att skynda på utgiftsökningen till fem procent av BNP, med en redan planerad utgift.
Den föreslagna hängbron har varit en dröm för italienska ledare i flera decennier och skulle bli världens längsta.
bakgrund
Läs mer om planerna för bron
Wikipedia (en)
The Strait of Messina Bridge (Italian: Ponte sullo stretto di Messina) is a proposed 3.6-kilometre (2.2 mi) suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina, connecting Torre Faro in Sicily with Villa San Giovanni on the Italian peninsula.
The bridge has been controversial due to the impact of earthquakes, strong currents in the strait, concerns of disruption of bird migration routes, and the infiltration of mafia groups Cosa Nostra and 'Ndrangheta in area construction projects.
While a bridge across the Strait of Messina had been proposed since ancient times, the first detailed plan was made in the 1990s for a suspension bridge. The project was cancelled in 2006 under prime minister Romano Prodi. On 6 March 2009, as part of a massive new public works programme, prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's government announced that construction of the Messina Bridge would indeed go ahead, pledging €1.3 billion as a contribution to the total cost, estimated at €6.1 billion. The project was cancelled again on 26 February 2013, by prime minister Mario Monti's government, due to budget constraints. A decade later, the project was revived again with a decree by Giorgia Meloni's government, on 16 March 2023, which received presidential approval on 31 March 2023.
If fully approved and built, it will be the longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge would be part of the Berlin–Palermo railway axis (Line 1) of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). Construction is expected to begin in 2025, with completion forecast for 2032.
Omni är politiskt obundna och oberoende. Vi strävar efter att ge fler perspektiv på nyheterna. Har du frågor eller synpunkter kring vår rapportering? Kontakta redaktionen