Overview
- The Court of Auditors refused to approve the plan after a hearing, stalling immediate steps on the Strait of Messina bridge.
- Transport Minister Matteo Salvini denounced the decision as a severe blow and political in nature, pledging to press on.
- Italian media report he may pursue a cabinet vote to label the project of higher public interest in order to bypass objections.
- The watchdog said it will publish its reasoning within 30 days, with scrutiny reported to include financing, demand forecasts, environmental and seismic rules, and EU cost overrun limits.
- The proposal calls for a 3.3-kilometre road-and-rail suspension span between Calabria and Sicily, billed as the world’s longest, long disputed over cost and ecological risk and previously abandoned in 2012.