€19 million to improve irrigation in western Sicily
€19m – In an effort to combat drought, the Land Reclamation Consortium of Palermo and Trapani have announced interventions on irrigation networks in the Palermo and Trapani areas, with a total investment of almost €19m. These interventions aim to provide concrete solutions to the agricultural sector, making the most of available national resources, optimizing water use and reducing losses and waste.
Renato Schifani, president of the Sicilian Region, stressed the importance of these interventions, stating that the regional government is working tirelessly to solve problems that have long plagued the agricultural sector. The goal is to modernize and make irrigation systems and networks in the Sicilian countryside more efficient, serve more areas of the territory, reduce consumption and ensure environmental sustainability.
The first of the two tenders, financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, concerns works for a total amount of 9.99 million euros plus VAT. These works are necessary to fully use the waters of the Garcia reservoir on the Belice river, in the Palermo area. This is the first functional lot for the extraordinary maintenance of the irrigation distribution of the ‘Dagale-Renelli’ district. The intervention is necessary due to the deterioration of the existing infrastructure, which has been in operation for over 30 years. Thanks to the renewal of the electromechanical lifting equipment and other parts of irrigation pipes and instruments, the functionality of the plant, which serves over 100 hectares of land, will be restored.
The second call for tenders, for an amount of 8.7 million euros plus VAT, also financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, concerns the reconstruction of the irrigation network of the Delia river basin, in Mazara del Vallo, in the Trapani area. The project involves the adaptation of the distribution network to reduce losses and make it more efficient. This will be possible thanks to the use of remote control instruments managed remotely by the Land Reclamation Consortium and the reconstruction of sections of old pipelines for about 140 kilometers.
These interventions represent an important step in the fight against drought in Sicily, offering concrete solutions to improve irrigation efficiency and support the region’s agricultural sector.
