MESSINA – Port of Tremestieri: from Uil “deep concern for the words of mayor Basile. If work does not resume on May 25th, the only option will be to place the work under commissionership.” The union underlines: “We have noted with deep concern the mayor’s statements expressed following the meeting with the company’s top management Bruno Teodoro spaa company that took over the contract from New Coedmar. In this sense, these words certify the impotence of the municipal administration, in its capacity as contracting authority, with respect to the real resumption of work on the Port of Tremestieri. Therefore, we fear that next May 25th, indicated as the date of restart of the works, risks being yet another baseless slogan”.
“Without an intervention from the Municipality, the port of Tremestieri would be at year zero”
For his part, Federico Basile replies: “We gave dates in relation to the conversation we had. There has been talk of commissionership since I became mayor, in 2022. Beyond the inter-ministerial cabinet and the possible commissionerate, the work must be completed. We are doing what is necessary. We were the ones who called the company Bruno Teodoro to have a timetable. It was we, the municipal administration, who urged the formalization of financial coverage, which is not the responsibility of the Municipality. The commissioner is not the panacea. It may be useful but it is a government choice. I don’t think the commissioner will resolve a problem that has existed since 2009 and which, this year, we have addressed in a precise and timely manner. Without decisive intervention from the Municipality, we would certainly have had to start from scratch. Therefore the sale of the company branch is also part of a strategy. Unfortunately, the times are not what we would like because we do not dictate them. The project is still almost twenty percent.”
Ivan Tripodi, general secretary of Uil Messina, Pasquale De Vardo, general secretary of Feneal Uil Tirrenica, and Nino Di Mento, general secretary of Uil Trasporti Messina highlight: “Despite the commitments and much chatter over the years, the reality of the facts tells us that the concrete prospects for resuming work on the port of Tremestieri are, at present, mere announcements and good intentions since, as stated by Mayor Basile, in reality, fundamental administrative requirements that confirm the resources allocated to the important infrastructure would be missing. It is worth remembering that the original amount of the contract was approximately 72 million euros, while today the sums needed have risen to over 113 million euros. According to Mayor Basile’s declarations, we are awaiting confirmation of the financial coverage from the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Strait Port System Authority and the Sicilian Region for a total amount of approximately 41 million euros”.
“If the works don’t start again on May 25th, we will proceed with the commissionership”
The Uil representatives continue: “Therefore, in light of this situation, we reiterate our position repeatedly expressed over time, that is to say: if the construction site of the port of Tremestieri does not restart on the fateful date of May 25th, we relaunch the idea of immediately proceeding with the commissioning of the work by the national government. This, in our opinion, is the only way forward to avoid yet another drip of dates, announcements, missteps and, obviously, waste of public money, as it is completely obvious that the passage of time will inevitably cause a further increase of costs. The moment of truth has come: all institutions must assume responsibility and give precise answers to the city, to the community and to the great need for work and employment”,
