12 million euros had been allocated for the redevelopment of the “Due Torri” in viale Biagio Pecorino /viale San Teodoro in Librino. But with the increases due to the passing of the years, around four million euros are now missing to reach the goal. In particular, it is the second tower that risks being once again left to its fate by the Municipality and Iacp.
This was communicated by SUNIA of Catania and Sicily who this morning organized a meeting with journalists on the age-old issue which has seen the housing in the neighborhood (72 per building) waiting to be completed for more than fifteen years.
The “Two Towers” should have already been redeveloped and renovated with the 2014/2020 Pon Metro Funds, but after a continuous movement of sums from one fund to another, to date it is not clear how and if the works will really start .
The agreement between the two bodies, Municipality and Iacp, explained the secretaries of SUNIA Sicilia and SUNIA Catania, Giusi Milazzo and Agata Palazzolo, provides that the redevelopment works concern only one of the two buildings for now, but the project is still in definition course.
“The conditional once again concerns certainty of the project, times and deadlines. -explain the two secretaries – For the tower destined for the first redevelopment, the objective seems to be to entrust the works to a company by the end of this year; delivery should be completed within 24 months. But there are no certainties, as has always happened in recent years. We also wonder what will happen to the other tower? There isn’t any money for that and we wonder if it will ever be found.”
Over the years the two towers have been vandalized. The adjacent space has become a landfill.
“In Catania the serious housing emergency affects at least 15 thousand families and we cannot afford to waste years and years to recover housing which in the meantime is being devastated, burning public money – continue Milazzo and Palazzolo – We also know that the new European funds Next Generation Eu could be useful in this case, and beyond. The tender will be out in two months. These are funds intended for the energy requalification of public housing. As SUNIA Sicilia we are preparing a list that contains all the public accommodations that could benefit from it. We will start from Catania with a list of properties to be submitted to both the IACP and the Municipality. Let us therefore open this new dispute as a union that defends tenants, especially the weakest.”
Catania’s public housing, according to SUNIA, is completely insufficient and at least 5,000 new homes would be needed for those who cannot afford to pay ordinary rent. Evictions are also increasing and rental accommodation is no longer available for families with medium-low incomes.
A year ago, right in front of these two buildings on Viale San Teodoro, the “National Petition for the right to live” was launched.
The objective is to put on the agenda the issues and solutions to change housing policy in our country. Three thousand of the six thousand signatures collected in Sicily come from Catania.
