The PRexident of the Council Giuseppe Conte, a few days after the inauguration of the bridge, will return to Genoa today to commemorate the 43 victims of Morandi and to pay homage to the Glade of Memory, dedicated to them.
President, two years after the collapse of the Morandi, the commitment to build a new bridge for Genoa has been maintained. But as President Mattarella said a year ago in a letter to the 19th century, the wound will not be healed until those responsible for the tragedy are identified and punished and the conditions are not met so that such a serious event does not happen again.
The first task is up to the judiciary, on the second what is the government doing?
«The words of President Mattarella are a continuous stimulus for us, useful to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again. The State’s participation in Autostrade goes in this direction, because it will contribute to ensuring more controls and safety on our network. Not only. It will also allow for more efficiency and fairer rates. Our infrastructures are a precious public good, we will no longer allow this principle to be trampled on ».
What promises do you feel you can make to the families of the 43 victims, on the occasion of the commemoration of the tragedy of 14 August 2018?
“I don’t feel like making promises to people who have suffered such heavy losses. However, I guarantee the commitment to ensure that this tragedy gives rise to a more scrupulous attention on the part of the state for public infrastructures. In these days we are finalizing the negotiations with Autostrade and I trust that the definitive solution will prove to be a concrete signal for them. Following the decision, I spoke with Egle Possetti, because I felt it was a duty that those who, in that tragedy, had lost loved ones should be directly informed by the institutions. We will also continue to be alongside the families of the victims until the ongoing criminal investigations are concluded and the related responsibilities are definitively charged “.
On 14 July, Cdp’s entry into Autostrade per l’Italia was imminent, with the consequent change of control of the company. In the meantime, the new bridge has been entrusted to manage the same concessionaires present at the time of the collapse. Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to close the game before the opening?
«I know had there been the conditions to close the agreement earlier, we would have done so without delay. Unfortunately it was a tiring, very hard confrontation, the outcome of which we can say that we have prefigured a balanced solution, which guarantees the preeminent public interest in the management of an infrastructure that represents one of the major strategic assets for the country “.
Are you able to set a deadline for the agreement with Atlantia and the Benettons? And is the possibility of the revocation of the concession still on the table?
“We are working on it tirelessly, even in these days. Many detailed questions remain to be defined. The important thing is that all the commitments undertaken by Aspi and Atlantia with the letter of 14 July last are respected. The open dispute procedure will close only when all the signatures to the related agreements have been affixed. At the moment, there are two technical discussions in progress, the one to rewrite the concession and the one concerning the new structure of the company “.
Can it exclude that any agreements with the current owners of Autostrade provide for the cancellation of liability actions for deficiencies in maintenance in the past?
“We don’t intend to cancel anything. As far as we are concerned, the agreements we are going to sign do not provide for waivers of any liability actions. Protecting the health and safety of citizens inevitably passes from ascertaining present, past and future responsibilities, where there are serious non-compliance and unforgivable negligence “.
For Liguria it was a summer of enormous inconvenience, due to the extraordinary works in the motorway tunnels. A similar deterioration situation has not occurred in a few years. Is it possible that the state has not noticed the deficiencies in maintenance? Is the Ministry of Infrastructure now able to carry out the inspections independently? And when will the Infrastructure Safety Agency be operational?
«The extraordinary work and the hardships prove two things: that for many, too many years not enough has been done and that the Government is working hard. With the rebalancing of the relationship between the state and motorway concessionaires, we will increase maintenance and safety. Homogeneous guidelines on the safety of tunnels and viaducts have been outlined to be applied throughout the national network. We have also imposed that concessionaires entrust all controls to third parties, in order to avoid overlapping between controlled and controlled. The Ministry of Infrastructures has carried out numerous inspections and for some time has been reinforcing the staff with dedicated technicians, while a National Agency will be operational in the autumn ».
Who will pay the damages for the inconveniences suffered by the port, the hauliers and the companies for the summer construction sites on the Genoa motorway junction? And in what times?
«Al Ministry of Infrastructures, a working group was set up together with the “Save Genoa and Liguria” Committee to identify the methods of measuring the damage and quantifying the compensation. The first data will be presented on September 2nd “.
Why is the Genoa motorway Gronda, which can already be built, not unblocked by the Ministry of Infrastructure? What is your position on this?
«Nn the decree-law on simplifications we have included 130 strategic works including the Gronda. The project is already defined. The green light will come as soon as the new motorway concession plan is ready with the related economic and financial plan “.
Do you agree with the Mayor of Genoa Bucci’s proposal to use part of the recovery fund to improve the infrastructures serving the main port in the North West?
“Italy must go back to running and investing in infrastructures, both in modernizing existing ones and in new works. It is a necessary step. A portion of European resources will be dedicated to strengthening connections to and from Italian ports such as Genoa, which is essential for the country’s recovery ».
Much has been said about the Genoa model. Do you think that the use of commissioners and the accelerated procedures for assigning the works can be replicated at a national level without exposing the construction sites to the risk of criminal infiltration?
«The one for the Genoa bridge was a winning model, which also obtained the favorable evaluation of the Dia, as the“ perfect synthesis ”between speed in carrying out the works and effectiveness in the anti-mafia monitoring procedures. With the simplification decree-law we confer managerial and executive powers to all contracting stations, with the possibility, where necessary, of appointing commissioners, as happened right here in Genoa. We must run, but in the name of transparency and legality. For this reason, the measures aimed at preventing criminal infiltrations will be made quicker and more effective, but at the same time strengthened. There will be no room for criminal appetites ».
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