Overview

• The CIPESS granted final approval this morning for the definitive bridge plan, triggering the next phase of oversight by the Corte dei Conti.
• The €13.532 billion initiative will be financed with public funds and European investments and includes around 40 km of road and rail access works.
• As designed, the suspension bridge will feature a 3,300 metre central span, six road lanes, two rail tracks and 399 metre-tall towers, making it the longest of its kind.
• Environmental groups including Greenpeace, Legambiente, Lipu and WWF have filed new appeals in Brussels alleging procedural breaches of EU habitat directives.
• No Ponte committees plan a demonstration in Messina on August 9 even as contractors prepare to begin site mobilization by late September.