Thousands of people have marched in Sicily to protest against a government plan to build a bridge that would connect the Italian mainland to the Mediterranean island, and would be the world’s longest single-span bridge.
Some 10,000 demonstrators marched in the Sicilian city of Messina on Saturday to stage their opposition to the 13.5-billion-euro ($15.7bn) infrastructure project.
Residents are against the proposed Strait of Messina Bridge project over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental effect, and potential mafia interference.
The idea to build the bridge has been debated for decades. This week, however, it saw a major step forward when a government committee overseeing strategic public investments approved the plan.
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini called it “the biggest infrastructure project in the West”.
Salvini cited studies estimating the project would create up to 120,000 jobs annually and help stimulate economic growth in lagging southern Italy, as billions more are invested in surrounding road and infrastructure improvements.
Critics, however, are not convinced, and angered that about 500 families would have to be expropriated for the bridge to be built. Salvini says such families will be compensated.
“The Strait of Messina can’t be touched,” protesters shouted as they marched in Messina. Many carried banners that said “No Ponte” (No Bridge).
“They could offer me three times the value of my house, but that doesn’t matter to me. What matters is the landscape. They must not touch the Strait of Messina,” Mariolina De Francesco, a 75-year-old resident of Messina whose house lies near the site of one of the bridge’s planned 399-metre- (440-yard-)tall land towers, told The Associated Press news agency.
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