Sardinia continues to pay for being an island far from the mainland. Not having his bridge over the Strait to build, he will not be entitled to all the billions of euros in investments announced by the Ministry of Infrastructure for Sicily and Calabria. The MIT note speaks of almost 28 billion for roads and highways and 47 for the railway networks in the two regions. In all, 75 billion: "unprecedented investments that the MIT led by Matteo Salvini is planning to relaunch the infrastructures in the South, also in view of the construction of the bridge over the Strait of Messina".

These are European resources that draw on almost all the structural funds: development and cohesion fund, Pnrr, European regional development fund. As far as Sardinia is concerned, the part of the billion three hundred million of the Pnrr dedicated to infrastructures is equivalent to 548.7 million euros and most of this, i.e. 368.5 million, is intended for investments to increase the speed of trains and the railway network, which will be electrified.

The High Speed Node

Increased speed is different from high speed, from which the Sardinian Region has been completely cut off. This is perhaps the main reason for the enormous gap, in terms of resources provided, between the island and the other two Regions.

Overall, for the period 2021-2027, the Region will have around 8.7 billion available (1.2 from the Pnrr, 1.5 from the ERDF, 744 million euros from the European social fund, 332 from the complementary plan to the Pnrr, almost five billion of the development and cohesion fund). It is clear that they will be destined for infrastructure only in part, and in any case not even remotely to the extent envisaged for Sicily and Calabria.

MIT has its justification. "The works financed with Pnrr funds are the result of the negotiations started by the Conte 2 government, which the current executive had the merit of making concrete by guaranteeing compliance with the deadlines (which is necessary to cash the Brussels check)". Specifically, "in these approximately nine months of government, Calabria and Sicily have deserved particular attention due to the project of the bridge over the strait which will attract extraordinary European funds as it is a work of continental interest because it will guarantee the rapid connection between Berlin and Palermo" .

Roberto Murgia

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