"Continuity, the model is Corsica"

The model for the future is Corsica, but the present always passes through Brussels, where the fate of aerial territorial continuity is decided. The timing of the bridge call that will allow the island to pass the summer - the contract with Volotea will expire in just over two months - will be dictated by the EU. "We await answers as soon as possible," says the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Mobility Alessandro Morelli. In the meantime, there is a risk that Sardinian passengers and tourists do not know which company to leave with until the end.

In May there is a risk of chaos. The Region has asked you to bring forward the deadline for the companies' expressions of interest to 15 March. Will you do it?

“Territorial continuity is being assessed by the European Commission. The Ministry and the Region are following the dossier with the utmost attention and scruple so that Brussels responds to the requests made, including that relating to the advance of the deadline for expressions of interest. The goal is to define the procedure promptly, well aware of the needs of the island at the gates of the summer season ».

However, the EU has not yet published the multi-year call, which should be launched in October: at what point is the procedure?

«The Ministry and the Region have done their homework, providing for the fulfilments of their own competence in a rapid and punctual manner. The act in question was sent to the European Commission on 4 February. The publication, therefore, can only be imminent. I refuse to believe that for a purely formal operation it may take more time, also because the call must necessarily remain in publication for six months, and if the wait were to extend beyond the first ten days of March there would be objective difficulties in organizing the tender. ".

Is the creation of a Sardinian airline a viable path?

«I know that the Region is discussing with various carriers to assess the financial sustainability of this type of operation. The model to follow could be that of Corsica, I will be at the side of the administration carefully observing its work ».

Ferries: you have published the tender for the Civitavecchia-Cagliari line. Why was a duration of 12 months chosen and not 3 or 5 years as in other similar procedures?

«We opted for this solution in light of the need to recalibrate the requirements for line assignment. When the Cin-Tirrenia agreement expired two years ago, the tenders went deserted precisely because no operator could satisfy the parameters required by the service. This year will therefore serve to find the balance between the requests of the Region, the indications of the Transport Regulatory Authority and those of the European Commission, to arrive at a multi-year tender that is successful, also by monitoring the progress of the question during the exit phase from the Covid emergency ».

The announcement foresees a three-weekly frequency: it risks being insufficient, especially during the summer period.

“The data on traffic trends show that in the last five years there has been an average decline of 17.5% in the number of passengers and 15% in freight. Since this is a statistic that contemplates both the Covid phase and the previous one, including the summer peaks, it is unlikely, also based on the current market situation and the information we receive from the Region, that the races on the Civitavecchia-Cagliari-Arbatax route are insufficient ".

But operators are predicting a summer with numbers similar, if not higher, to 2019.

«In any case, the trend in demand will be monitored to evaluate any adjustments. I am also convinced that having included the port of Arbatax within the Sardinian port system will improve the management of the infrastructure and services ".

Roads: what is the state of investments on the island? The Sassari-Olbia is not finished yet, the Carlo Felice is an eternal construction site.

«On the road network, interventions for a total value of over 1.8 billion are planned, twelve works have been commissioned by the Government. On average, the progress of the work stands at 40 percent, and the commissioner will serve to give it a significant acceleration. The largest share of the investments is concentrated precisely in Sassari-Olbia, where several shipyards are already operational. I realize that this entails various inconveniences for those who drive, but it is a question of making a sacrifice today in order to have modern and safe connecting routes tomorrow. I take this opportunity to recall the great coordination work carried out by prefectures and mayors precisely to mitigate the inconvenience to traffic as much as possible ».

To go from Cagliari to Sassari by train it takes at least 3 hours, and Sardinia, the only region without high speed.

«In the Pnrr, investments of 458 million are planned for the upgrading of the Sardinian railways and the modernization of rolling stock, in addition to over 115 million for stations, junctions and routes. The condition of insularity penalizes Sardinia in terms of the sustainability of rail investments, and that is why, with President Solinas, we are studying long-term organic solutions that will allow us to overcome this criticality ».

Michele Ruffi