The Messina citizen committee “Instead of the bridge” presented a request to the Directorate General of the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European Commission “to evaluate the opening of an infringement procedure by the Union European Union to be paid by Italy on the contract for the design and construction of a bridge over the Strait of Messina”.
We learn this from a note from the committee.
“The complaint indicates that the measures adopted in 2023 by the Italian government and parliament to reactivate the contracts could violate Directive 2014/24/EU which obliges the launch of a new tender if the value of the contract grows beyond 50% of the value initial.
Having noted that the project does not expose the necessary estimates or the economic and financial plan, it is highlighted that the cost-benefit analysis update document only reports a total investment cost of 13.5 billion euros, of which 10.855 billion for ‘Assignment to the General Contractor’.
Based on the economic and financial plan of the work signed on 21 September 2009, the original value of the contract was 3,879,600,000 euros, and the contractually foreseen price update brought it to 4,544,906,000 euros. The increase that occurred in March 2009 had brought the total consideration to 4,969,530,000 euros. The cost increase resulting from the definitive project is therefore between 179.8% and 118.4% of any previous value.
These amounts greatly exceed (well over double) the increase limit set by the art. 72 of Directive 2014/24/EU (implemented by Legislative Decree 50/2016 and subsequent amendments) according to which ‘any price increase must not exceed 50% of the value of the initial contract’. The Commission offices – explained the committee – will now examine the complaint according to European Union law”.
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