Italy to build bridge to Sicily

2025-08-09 15:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The bridge to Sicily is the heart project of Transport Minister Matteo Salvini. The construction of the bridge will go down in history, he declared (06.08.2025). Salvini, together with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has declared this as a prestige project. Since the beginning of their government, they have gradually approved various parts of the project. The green light was finally given by the forum, which approves money for major national projects in Italy. Thus, the bridge project is closer to being realized than ever before. "The bridge will be an accelerator of development. It will solve some of the problems in southern Italy," promised Salvini. The bridge will create jobs, bring good engineers to the region and simplify transport in the region. The regions of Sicily and Calabria, which will be connected by the bridge, need all of this. These regions are affected by unemployment and poor infrastructure.

Construction site in a seismic zone

Gino Sturniolo from Messina in Sicily doesn't believe the bridge will make things better in his region. The money that will be spent on the bridge could be better spent on other things. "We sometimes only have water for a few hours at home because the water lines are in bad condition. The money would be better spent on essential needs like water supply."

Struniolo is involved in the civic initiative "No Ponte" (no bridge). Critics have also raised the problem of the geographical position from the beginning, as this is an area with high seismic activity. There are also concerns about the damage to the ecological system in the Strait of Messina. There is also the problem of investing money in other projects more necessary for the region.

Messina bridge design competition since 1969

The discussion about building a bridge to Sicily began decades ago. In 1969, more than 50 years ago, a competition for ideas for such a project was opened. Silvio Berlusconi, in particular, has since taken several initiatives to realize the project. But this was never achieved, because successive governments have repeatedly stopped the construction of the bridge.

The "No Ponte" civic initiative has another concern, the fear that the region will turn into a giant construction site that could last for decades. And in the end, large sums of public money will be spent without concretely affecting the result, says Struniolo.

Estimated costs 13.5 billion euros in total

But according to Transport Minister Salvini, this will not happen. The government hints that it has enough money to build the bridge. By declaring the bridge relevant for defense, the aim is to classify the project for its construction as a strategic infrastructure project of importance to NATO. In this way, financing opportunities are increased. The construction of the bridge is expected to have a total cost of around 13.5 billion euros. Six highway lanes are planned on it as well as two railway lines.

Minister Salvini is confident that construction work can begin as early as this fall, in September or October. Opponents of the bridge have planned a new demonstration this weekend in Messina./ DW