Overview

• The interministerial CIPESS approved the bridge’s definitive technical dossier and €13.532 billion in public funding for a 3,666 m single‐span suspension design.
• The project now moves to the State Accounting Office and Corte dei Conti for formal ‘bollinatura’ before publication and expropriations can start.
• Environmental NGOs including Greenpeace, Legambiente, Lipu and WWF have lodged new EU habitat directive complaints and local ‘No Ponte’ committees plan an August 9 protest in Messina.
• Italy and the EU view the bridge as a key link in the TEN-T Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor with potential NATO dual-use status and an expected 100,000-120,000 jobs boost.
• The initiative faces further administrative appeals, dozens of technical and environmental prescriptions and potential judicial challenges before ground-breaking.