Liguria was the first Italian region to sign, on 22 September, the agreement for the programming of the Development and Cohesion Fund (FSC) 2021-2027, with an allocation of over 265 million euros.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on the occasion of the signing of the agreement, underlined that “Liguria was the quickest, as often happens, in defining the cohesion agreement”, adding that this “is only the first example of a new phase in which Italy will demonstrate its ability to spend European funds”.
“We want to represent a responsible and capable nation, able to face difficulties without wasting resources, but rather, demonstrating that we are among the first and best in using them” declared the prime minister, assuring that the government “is doing everything possible ”.
A total of 116 interventions are planned, divided into eight areas: digitalisation, environment, culture, transport, urban redevelopment, social and health, education and administrative capacity.
Among the most important regional projects that will benefit from the funds, there are the safety measures of around twenty provincial roads, renovation and efficiency interventions on the public residential building stock, some sections of the Tyrrhenian cycle route, and completion works on school buildings in Valle Stura, in the Savona and Imperia areas.
In particular as regards the Tirrenica Cycle Route, in recent weeks the delivery took place to the companies that won the tender for the new section of cycle-pedestrian path between Sarzana and Fosdinovo and in Castelnuovo Magra.
In the metropolitan area, specifically, the financing of the increased costs for the construction of the Bisagno torrent spillway, the co-financing of interventions to mitigate the hydraulic risk of the Entella river basin, the completion of the new terminal of the Cristoforo Colombo airport and the co-financing of the new dry dock project in the port.
Many of the most substantial interventions are aimed at making Liguria increasingly safer from the point of view of hydrogeological risk.
In this regard, on 6 June the Minister of the Environment Gilberto Pichetto Fratin in agreement with the interim president of the Liguria Region, Alessandro Piana, signed a decree to appoint the regional councilor for Soil Protection, Giacomo Giampedrone, as new ‘ ad acta’ commissioner for works against hydrogeological instability.
Giampedrone temporarily replaces the governor, Giovanni Toti, currently suspended and under house arrest due to the investigation into which he is being investigated for corruption.
In particular, 40 million euros of the overall allocation allocated to Liguria will be used as a co-financing share for the European POR-FESR 2021-2027 funds, thus freeing equivalent resources from the regional budget (initially committed as co-financing of the POR-FESR), which will be used to finance further regional expenses.
