ROME : The €13.5 billion ($15.7 billion) project is fully funded by the state and set to begin construction between September and October.

Announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, the ambitious project will span 3.3 kilometers and rest between two 400-meter-high towers. Once completed, it will surpass Turkey’s Çanakkale Bridge (2.02 km) as the world’s longest suspension bridge.

The bridge will feature three car lanes on each side and two central train tracks, designed to endure seismic activity and high winds in a region located at the junction of two tectonic plates. It is expected to revolutionize transport in southern Italy, reducing the current one-hour ferry crossing to just 10 minutes by car and 15 minutes by train.

Salvini hailed the bridge as a game-changer for southern Italy, promising accelerated development for Sicily and Calabria, thousands of new jobs, and stronger national cohesion.

Rome is seeking to classify the bridge under NATO defense spending, arguing that it qualifies as critical infrastructure, especially if Sicily hosts a NATO base. This classification could help offset the cost through defense-related EU and state budget allocations, as Italy moves toward its goal of allocating 5% of GDP to military spending.

The bridge, however, remains politically divisive. First proposed in the 1970s, the project has faced decades of delays, cancellations, and controversy. Critics, including opposition MP Nicola Fratoianni of the Left-Green Alliance, warn it could drain public funds and become a “financial black hole.”

Environmental groups and Italy’s Supreme Court of Auditors have also raised concerns over the cost of dedicating such a large sum to a single project amid national debt pressures.

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