Rome, 6 August 2025
Approval of the final design for the Strait of Messina Bridge from the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development (CIPESS) was based on the information package prepared and submitted by the Ministry of infrastructure and Transport. These consisted of: the final design updated with the Designer’s Report, including the schedule of preparatory works and services; the results of the Services Conference, published by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport; the positive opinion on the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Assessment of the Implications for the Site issued by the Environmental Impact Assessment Technical Committee (EIA-SEA) set up by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security; the Financial Plan; the survey report from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport declaring, among other things, that the project is fully funded, with the cost of approximately €13.5 billion covered by the funds already earmarked in the government’s budget and by those raised by the Company through the capital increase subscribed for by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance in 2023; the list of compensatory measures.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for the country,” said Stretto di Messina’s Chairman, Giuseppe Recchi. “It will serve as a national testing ground that will help to develop expertise, reinforce best practices and attract investment and talent, enabling Italy to respond to even more complex challenges. The bridge over the Strait is an internationally recognised engineering solution that has painstakingly developed over many years. With its span of 3.3 kilometres, it will be the world’s longest suspension bridge. The same design has been used for projects in China, Hong Kong, the United States and Turkey. One of its distinctive characteristics is the fact that it will carry both road and rail traffic, key to maximizing the benefits of the investment.”

“This marks a historic day for the bridge project,” said Stretto di Messina’s CEO, Pietro Ciucci. “We have achieved this result thanks to the commitment shown by the Government, above all the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, in backing a major infrastructure project that will benefit the south of the country, Italy as a whole and Europe. With publication of CIPESS’s decision in the Official Gazette, which should take place by the end of summer, following its registration with the Court of Auditors, the decision will be effective and work on construction can begin. Work will start on the detailed design for the bridge’s phased construction and on carrying out the preparatory works which, as provided for in Law Decree 35/2023, will primarily regard site preparation, the removal of obstacles, battlefield clearance, archaeological, geognostic and geotechnical surveys, and preparation of the base camps. Approval from CIPESS will trigger the declaration that the project is of public interest, which will allow us to begin the compulsory purchase process. This will follow a gradual approach, in accordance with the plan widely publicised in recent months and paying close attention to the needs of owners, who will have access to a series of initiatives designed to encourage voluntary acceptance. The Company has completed other important steps, such as signature of the addendum to the concession agreement with the grantor, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and of the four addenda to the contracts with the General Contractor, Eurolink, led by the Webuild Group, with Parsons Transportation Group acting as the Project Management Consultant, Edison Next Environment providing environmental monitoring services, and Marsh acting as insurance advisor and broker in relation to construction of the Strait of Messina Bridge. The four contracts will come into effect with the decision from CIPESS.” 

Preparatory works by the end of 2025
Work is due to begin by the end of 2025. The initial steps will regard access roads and works that will ensure that any impact on neighbouring areas will be reduced to a minimum from the very outset. The various localities will be able to host the various worksites thanks to a series of preparatory works, including:
– the construction of site roads, keeping works traffic separate from local traffic;
– the preparation of base camps;
– the construction of water supply systems to meet site needs;
– the upgrade of the sewer system;
– battlefield clearance;
– the removal of obstacles caused by other services (water, gas, electricity, telecommunications, etc.) to ensure that they continue to function whilst construction work is taking place;
– pre-construction environmental monitoring;
– archeological and geognostic surveys;
– compensatory measures to offset the impact on local areas and communities;
– compensatory measures to offset the environmental impacts.

Detailed design and the start-up of work
Once the decision from CIPESS is effective, work will begin on the initial preparatory works and on the detailed design, which will take place in parallel for all three phases of the project:

• Phase 1 – Road and rail connections. Work is expected to start in May 2026;
• Phase 2 – Tunnels, junctions and three new train stations. Work is expected to start in September 2026;
• Phase 3 – The Crossing: towers, anchor blocks, suspension system, suspended deck, operational headquarters. Work is expected to start in March 2027.

Work on the bridge is scheduled for completion in 2032.

Compulsory purchase procedure
With approval of the final design, CIPESS has declared that the project is in the public interest, thereby opening the way for the gradual start of the compulsory purchase process in preparation for construction to begin. The parties affected by the procedure will be contacted directly by email (via the digital mailbox or certified email) or by registered letter with advice of receipt. This will then allow them to submit information to be used in determining the related compensation. Preference will be given to amicable agreements in compliance with existing legislation, with the aim of safeguarding the parties’ interests. For this purpose, Stretto di Messina is committed to promoting a spirit of collaboration between the affected parties.

Without altering Stretto di Messina’s goal of protecting the parties’ interests, giving priority to efforts to reach an amicable agreement, the Company retains the right to request that compensation be decided on through official channels, involving the appointment of a team of experts (one of which to be nominated by the Company, one by the relevant property owner and one by the President of the Civil Court in the district in which the related asset is located) or by order of the relevant local appeal court.

Environmental Monitoring Plan
Environment concerns have played a key role in the design process, with the Company making a significant investment in terms of organization, personnel and financial resources. An Environmental Monitoring Plan has been developed and is an essential technical component that will form part of the entire project lifecycle. The aim is to monitor changes in environmental and local conditions during the various phases of the project, to promptly identify any critical issues, assess the effectiveness of any measures taken and provide a solid body of information on which to base any corrective actions.

The monitoring will take place in three phases:
– the pre-construction phase, documenting the initial state of the environment before work has begun to provide a full and detailed point of reference;
– the construction phase, during which the temporary effects of worksite activity are monitored, with the aim of managing any impacts in real time;
– the post-construction phase, in which the impact of the fully operational infrastructure is observed, assessing the compatibility and stability of the new environmental conditions.

There are two distinct areas to be monitored:

• worksites: this covers the areas immediately affected by the works, with monitoring activities extending for up to 500 metres. The aim is to intervene rapidly in the event of serious or unforeseen environmental impacts.
• the wider area: covering a wider area of approximately 43 km² in Sicily, 15 km² in Calabria, and over 1,600 km² of marine area. This includes areas of outstanding natural importance such as SCIs and SPAs. The aim is to conduct systematic analysis over a prolonged period of the environmental and social impacts on a wider scale.

Cost, Financial Plan and tolls
The updated cost of the project, following finalisation of the addenda with all the various contractors, has been confirmed as €13.5 billion, which is fully covered by the resources provided for in the 2024 Budget Law and by the funds raised by the Company through the €370 million capital increase subscribed for by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance in 2023.

The Financial Plan confirms the financial sustainability of the initiative. The entire investment, net of government grants, will have been amortised by the time the concession expires in 2062. The share capital will be returned in full, providing a yield in line with cost of public borrowing.

The tolls charged to road users have been designed to guarantee the financial feasibility of the concession whilst, at the same time, providing a seamless connection between Sicily and Calabria. The above approach to financing the project has enabled tolls to be set at levels that are below the current cost of crossing the Strait of Messina, after fully covering all operating and extraordinary maintenance costs throughout the life of the asset. After taking into account inflation at the date on which the bridge enters service, it is currently estimated that the toll payable by motor vehicles will be less than €10.00, with significant discounts available to frequent users. The exact tolls will be fixed during the runup to the bridge’s opening to traffic.

The Press Kit is available on Stretto di Messina’s corporate website at the following link:
Press Kit – Stretto di Messina S.p.A.