«The bridge over the Strait is a priority for the Government, an important infrastructure, but it must deal with the territory. We are ready.” Federico Basile, mayor of Messina, said this, speaking at the National Assembly of the ANCI underway in Bologna. «At the moment – he explained – we are building other infrastructures: we have unlocked regional investments for 8 billion and another 17 are to come at a national level. There is a bit of a revolution underway, and we are aware that the future of Messina passes through here.”
Basile then underlined how the debate on major works must take into account the local context: «In Messina there is a reasoning linked to infrastructure that does not strictly concern the bridge, which today enters a bit with a tight leg. In these two years, the Government’s acceleration on this great work has put not only my city to the test, but also Reggio Calabria. This is not just an Italian issue, but also a European one: local infrastructure must have the breathing space it deserves.” «The bridge – he added – puts what we are building a bit in the balance. The idea of the city that we were pursuing until two years ago was without a bridge. We need to ask ourselves whether we need the bridge first or the infrastructure that is still missing. So far, and I say this as a citizen, however, those infrastructures have not been built and the bridge will probably become a vehicle for new investments in other strategic projects as well.”