In 2023, the phase of strong expansion of the economy following the pandemic crisis ended. Lombardy’s GDP grew by 1.2 percent: a higher value than the national average (0.9 percent), but which, compared to 3.8 percent in 2022, is slowing down.
This is one of the main aspects that emerged from the Bank of Italy’s report “The economy of Lombardy”, presented today in Milan.
The proceedings were opened by Giorgio Gobbi, Director of the Milan branch of the Bank of Italy, who focused on the economy’s ability to recover following the difficulties resulting from the advent of the Coronavirus. The report was presented by Dr. Paola Rossi, who presented the study data relating to the macroeconomic and economic situation.
As for inflation, “it decreased to 1.0 percent last March, from 11.0 percent at the end of 2022, mainly due to the decline in the cost of energy,” he said. According to the institute’s experts “in the first months of 2024 the economic trend remained weak and the forecasts available at regional level indicate a new slowdown in the current year”.
The added value of Lombardy “represents approximately 23 percent of the national one”. For the Italian economy, the central scenario of the Bank of Italy’s forecasts, published last April, envisages growth of 0.6 percent in 2024 and 1.0 percent in 2025. In the medium term, the development path of the region will be traced by the ability to give continuity and accelerate the structural changes undertaken in the last decade and to address the problems of the three great transitions: climatic, technological and demographic“.
The study showed that in 2023 industrial production stagnated (0.2 percent) and company turnover decreased. In the construction sector, however, activity continued to expand, still supported by incentives for energy efficiency interventions and by the works financed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr).
In this regard, it was specified that the construction sites connected to the Pnrr started in Lombardy between November 2021 and February 2024 were over two thousand, for a total amount of approximately 2.5 billion euros awarded.
At the end of 2023, over 13 billion euros had been allocated to public implementers for projects to be carried out in Lombardy; the estimated amount of the tenders announced was around 6 billion euros, three quarters of which have already been awarded. A significant portion (4.8 billion euros) of the resources put out for tender concerns the construction of public works, a part of which is already in the execution phase.
