Overview

• The 3.3 km suspension bridge will connect Sicily and Calabria with 399 m towers and four 1.26 m-diameter cables engineered to withstand winds above 200 km/h and magnitude 7.1 earthquakes under strict anti-mafia security protocols.
• Public funding under the 2024 and 2025 budget laws fully covers the €13.532 billion cost with forecasts of 10,000 new jobs in the first year and over €23 billion in GDP impact.
• Construction is slated to begin in September after the Corte dei Conti registers the Cipess approval, followed by two years of preparatory work including land expropriations.
• Opposition parties and environmental NGOs have filed appeals with Italy’s Council of State and the European Commission challenging the approval and demanding further reviews.
• The mayor of Villa San Giovanni has requested a halt to expropriation procedures until an executive design is finalized and the municipality can prepare for the project’s impact.