00:00Italy has approved plans to build the world's longest suspension bridge.
00:04When it's finished, the $15.6 billion project will connect its southern Calabria region to the island of Sicily.
00:12It will span 3.3 kilometers over the Strait of Messina, rising to a height of 400 meters.
00:18The plan is to build two railway lines in the middle, with three lanes of traffic on either side.
00:24Now, Rome is hoping to classify the bridge as a military expenditure that will fall under its NATO spending target of 5% of GDP.
00:34The goal is to complete the bridge between 2032 and 2033.
00:38The Italian government says the project will create 120,000 jobs a year in one of the poorest areas of Europe.
00:46Joining me now is Angelica Donati, President of Italy's National Association of Building Contractors.
00:52Angelica, thanks so much for joining us.
00:54This idea has been around since the 1960s.
00:57Just how significant is this project?
01:02Thank you for having me.
01:03Well, some say that the idea has been around since Roman times.
01:07It is a very significant project.
01:09As was rightly said in your intro, it's going to be the largest single arch bridge in the world.
01:17It's a massive investment.
01:18It's 13.5 billion euros for the bridge, plus 1.1 billion euros for all the complementary works that need to be made for it.
01:26Massive investment in a region that struggles with very poor connectivity.
01:31This is going to be a huge feat of engineering.
01:34So, I wonder if you could just talk us through the main points of how it's going to be built and the trickiest parts of the structure.
01:40Well, the trickiest part is the bridge itself, obviously, is the fact that it's a 3.6-kilometer-long bridge with a single arch of 3.3 kilometers, which is the longest suspension bridge in the world.
01:55It's never been done before, so that will definitely be the hardest part, especially because the area between Calgary and Sicily is a highly seismic zone, and there are also very, very high winds going through the Strait of Messina, so there's a huge technical challenge there.
02:12Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned the fact that there's so much seismic activity, because in 1908, there was a massive earthquake that practically destroyed Messina and other areas.
02:24So, what does that add?
02:25How do you have to take into account what I would imagine are very frequent sort of shakes to the underfloor structure?
02:33Well, I'm obviously not involved in this project, so I can just tell you what I've read and heard about it, but suspension bridges are technically the best structural solutions for bridges in seismic zones,
02:47and the designers who worked on the definitive design, which was approved today, because we still don't have final design, that will start next,
02:56but they say that they've very much accounted for the seismic risk, and have chosen this structure because it is the most, let's say, the safest in these circumstances.
03:07Talk me through the economic benefits of this bridge. How is it going to change life in Sicily and in the southern parts of Italy?
03:16Well, as you rightly said, the government in Italy says it's going to create 120,000 jobs,
03:21and they estimate that for an expenditure of just over 14.5 billion euros, they expect a positive windfall for Italian GDP to be 23 billion euros,
03:38so almost a 2x multiplier.
03:41Obviously, there's pros and cons, and as you will have read and as you will have heard, there's a lot of support for the bridge,
03:48and there's a lot of opposition as well from green groups, from certain economic groups in southern Italy,
03:53which are worried that their local businesses will be swept away.
03:57So, obviously, as with all these big projects, it remains to be seen, you know, which way it's going to go,
04:03but it's obviously a massive injection of capital and of investment into an area that historically has seen very little investment.
04:12Absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much for chatting to us.
04:15That's Angelica Donati. She's president of Italy's National Association of Building Contractors.
