Today the Interministerial Committee for Planning Economic Development and Sustainable Development (CIPESS) chaired by the President of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, approved the final design of the bridge over the Strait of Messina, confirming - as specified in recent days by General contractor We Build Spa - that the cost of the work is 13,532 billion, fully covered by public funding already available following the 2024 and 2025 budget laws. Value of the investment that We Build has specified defined downstream of the definition of additional deeds with all the different assignees.

The work will be the longest single-span bridge of the world, 3,300 meters high, supported by two towers of 399 meters of height. It will accommodate three road lanes in each direction, including an emergency one, two service lanes and two railway tracks with pedestrian side walks. The connections will be secured by about 40 kilometers of road and rail junctions (80% of which developed in tunnels) that will connect the bridge, on the Calabria side, to the Mediterranean motorway and to the railway lines of Villa S. Giovanni and Reggio Calabria and, on the Sicily, the Messina-Catania and Messina-Palermo motorways as well as to the new Messina station.

Following the approval of the CIPESS, the Detailed design in parallel for the three phases envisaged: road and rail connections (May 2026); tunnels, junctions and the three new railway stations (September 2026); work by Crossing (towers, suspended deck, etc.) (March 2027). The company Stretto di Messina Spa, concessionaire for the design, construction and management of the bridge, considers that The start of the construction sites will take place within this year. The company specified that with the approval of the final project CIPESS declares the public utility that it will give gradual start of the expropriation phase, in relation to the activities of construction sites. The completion of the works is scheduled for 2032.

With regard to the cost of the work, the company Stretto di Messina specified that the entire investment, net of the public contributions, is amortized by the deadline of the concession (2062). As regards tolls for the vehicular traffic, a basic rate for cars is estimated less than €10, with significant reductions for travel Frequent. The company specified that, however, the punctual definition of the tariffs will take place in the vicinity of the opening of the bridge to traffic.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, who strongly wanted it, underlined that "such an infrastructure is a development accelerator". In a note, the ministry specified that Salvini thanked the previous ministers who believed in the connection between Calabria and Sicily, citing Pietro Lunardi, but evidently failing to mention Silvio Berlusconi, four-time Prime Minister, who had relaunched the project by becoming its standard-bearer.