Strait of Messina Bridge, Morelli: "We're working hard to ensure the final resolution is reached before the summer break."

Affaritaliani interviewed Alessandro Morelli, Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council with responsibility for planning and coordination of economic policy .

In 2024, what were the main priorities you focused on within CIPESS? Which resolutions adopted in the last year do you consider most significant, also in terms of their economic and infrastructural impact on the country?

First of all, CIPESS is a committee that can be described as the "second half" of the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers sets policy guidelines, the ministries develop projects, and then the Interministerial Committee definitively approves the medium- to long-term projects of the various ministries. Last year, for example, over €200 billion in investments were approved, particularly for rail and road infrastructure. Take the case of ANAS: the ANAS resolution alone is worth approximately €40 billion, of which €22 billion has already been funded. Then there is the healthcare sector, with the distribution of the National Health Fund among the Regions—we're talking €136 billion—intended to strengthen public services for citizens. Therefore, CIPESS plays a strategic role in guiding public investments and defining the country's infrastructural and social trajectory.

The Strait of Messina Bridge project has returned to the center of national debate. Final approval is expected in July: do you confirm this deadline? And once approved, what will be the next operational steps and the expected timeframe for starting construction?

We are working to ensure that the final resolution, which represents the formal and administrative green light for this major project, is received by the summer break. This is a crucial step for a massive project that will transform the face of the Mediterranean and Europe. We're talking about a resolution worth approximately €13 billion: the bridge itself, the link between Messina and Reggio Calabria, is worth approximately €6.5 billion. The remainder concerns related projects: the Messina metro, 60 kilometers of new road and highway infrastructure, and rail links. The Strait of Messina Bridge will be an extraordinary infrastructure, also from an engineering standpoint: it will provide more highway lanes and a rail link. It's a great opportunity to redefine Italy's geopolitical role in the Mediterranean and strengthen its connections with the rest of Europe. Currently, for example, freight trains from Sicily must be dismantled into three sections to cross the Strait: an absurd delay. The bridge will eliminate this disruption. This will allow Europe to leverage Sicily as a natural logistics platform for the Suez Canal and Africa, the fastest-growing continent. Investments don't stop at the Strait of Messina Bridge: the high-speed rail line to Reggio Calabria and the upgrade of Sicilian railways—which will be brought to European standards—complete the picture. Therefore, €13 billion is earmarked for the Strait of Messina Bridge and tens of billions more for infrastructure development in Calabria and Sicily. The goal is clear: to better connect these regions to the rest of Italy and Europe, making them central to national development.

And therefore also reduce the North-South gap, creating employment opportunities and economic development linked to the work.

Exactly. We have a great opportunity before us. Personally, I'm proud to think that, in the future, young people from the South will no longer be forced to emigrate to other Italian regions or other countries, but will be able to choose whether to remain in their own countries, which, thanks to significant investments, will be developed in the coming years. Young people will be able to leave out of curiosity and personal growth, and this is sacrosanct, but no longer out of necessity.

From Messina, we move to Milan. We know your connection to this area, both personal and professional. Today, however, Milan is under intense media and institutional pressure: it remains a city with enormous potential but also with growing challenges. In this context, what is the concrete objective of the "Save Milan" decree? What does the government intend to do to restore the city's centrality and livability, starting with safety and social management?

Milan, like many other Italian cities, has been at the center of the government's attention. Thanks to our efforts, the 2026 Winter Olympics have arrived, centered around Milan and dubbed "Milan-Cortina." The Ministry of Infrastructure is investing approximately €5 billion in the Milan and provincial metro systems alone. These are strong signs of the government's dedication to the city, regardless of the administration's political affiliation. What's happening in Milan now, from the perspective of the investigations but especially from the administration's perspective, is a true tragedy, and I say this as a Milanese! I call it a tragedy because it shows how an era that undoubtedly brought so much to the city has come to an end. I emphasize how the last center-right government, of which I was a member, brought Expo 2015, one of the ingredients that led to Milan's enormous growth both nationally and internationally. The judiciary will take its course, but the urban planning freeze, which has led to the uncontrolled growth of some real estate developments, is the result of questionable management and distorted regulatory interpretations. Today, we are paying the price for years of urban planning decisions by the center-left government. It saddens me to see that many Milanese are no longer able to live in the city. I'm 48 years old, and in my childhood group, only a few people live in Milan. Many have been "expelled" by the cost of living, the lack of safety, and the degradation. And although many "new Milanese" appreciate the services, those born and raised here no longer identify with the city. As for the urban planning tragedy, real estate developments have essentially sprung up like mushrooms that, let's say, are somewhat out of place in the context. Now, for anyone within the Milanese administration—which has governed Milan for almost fifteen years and which, among other things, has been directly responsible for urban planning, with its own councilors representing the Democratic Party—to now pretend that all this never happened, or to realize what happened only following the investigations, is frankly ridiculous. Given that we all want to emerge from this crisis affecting Milan as quickly as possible—and I say this as a Milanese, because Milan is the driving force of the country: if Milan runs, Italy runs—the blockade of Milan's urban planning means, in short, billions of euros lost not only for Milan, but for the entire country. It is therefore in the public interest to ensure that Milan emerges from this crisis. Certainly, the Winter Olympics we brought to Milan could represent an opportunity for revitalization. At this stage, however, we can do nothing but carefully observe what is happening.

On the urban planning front, the city administration has underestimated or ignored the problems, and is now trying to distance itself just as the investigations are emerging. Are some people burying their heads in the sand?

Unfortunately, the fact that Mayor Sala, in this situation, has completely sided—hand and foot—with the most ideological wing of the Democratic Party, the one that pushed for a mobility freeze and has failed to adequately address the degradation, especially given the warnings it received—the presence of immigration that isn't always positive... well, this is a serious problem. We're talking about immigration that, especially in working-class neighborhoods, often turns into predatory immigration, with second-generation immigrants showing no desire to integrate, and for whom, evidently, insufficient inclusion and prevention efforts have been made.

The data speaks for itself: 70% of crimes in Milan are committed by illegal immigrants. A promise of integration failed.

What worries me most is that many of these are young people, second-generation immigrants who haven't integrated. The failure of those who wanted and pushed for this uncontrolled immigration with a supposed integration policy is there for all to see. If we then consider that Mayor Sala was almost placed under special administration by a "shadow mayor" like Stefano Boeri, who sent him text messages suggesting, for example, that he block cars and traffic throughout the city, something Sala then slavishly followed.

Boeri also boasted to Sala that he had blocked the news of the rape of a girl "so as not to create a security alarm which nevertheless exists"

The fact that the "shadow mayor" Stefano Boeri, formerly an assessor in the Pisapia administration, a Democratic Party member, and now president of the Milan Triennale, allowed himself to do this and even manages to lead the Corriere della Sera, embarrasses me. Worse still, his choice to remain silent on serious incidents, such as the sexual assault being discussed, is unacceptable. Nor is it acceptable that Mayor Sala, the non-shadow mayor, was there listening or reading...

Let's look ahead again: As the 2026 Winter Olympics approach, attention is growing on infrastructure and construction sites. What is the current status of the schedule and investments? Is the government monitoring the progress of the projects? And what are the most pressing issues that need to be resolved to ensure we're prepared for the event?

Controversy over events of this magnitude is, unfortunately, a constant in Italy. But the 2026 Winter Olympics will be the first "widespread" in the history of the Games. They will involve very different regions: from Valtellina to Verona, passing through Milan and Cortina. It's normal for difficulties to arise. It would be absurd to think there couldn't be critical issues related to such major events, which involve around three billion in investments in infrastructure alone and which will clearly bring historic results from an economic and financial standpoint, but above all for Italy's image. But none of this worries me, nor the schedule or anything else. There was much discussion about the bobsleigh track in Cortina. They told us we couldn't do it: there wasn't the money, the regulations, the companies. And yet we did it, even on time. Once again, the "night owls" were wrong. There are two projects in Milan that we will be following with particular attention: the Olympic Village and the Pala Santa Giulia. Let's hope the urban planning crisis doesn't slow down their construction. Some infrastructure will be completed after the Games, but that's normal: the positive effects of these events last decades. Expo 2015 proved this: Milan benefited from it for years. The Olympics will be the same: a historic opportunity to revitalize Italy.

New investments for economic and social development in the years to come. Thank you, Undersecretary, and down with the naysayers and long live Italy.

Thank you.

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