MILAN, April 27, 2020 – Public works of high quality can be done safely and in record time: such is the experience of the new Genoa Bridge, whose structure Salini Impregilo (Webuild) and Fincantieri will tomorrow complete with the installation of the last span of the deck. Speaking on the Agorà current affairs show of RAI 3 public television, Pietro Salini, Chief Executive of Salini Impregilo, spoke of the need for a big infrastructure investment plan to respond to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 emergency and give work to hundreds of thousands of people.

“With the construction of the new bridge in Genoa we have shown that in Italy quality infrastructure can be done safely. All that needs to be done is enlist the right companies with the right expertise and the willingness of the national system to do public works quickly. The Genoa bridge is a model for an infrastructure plan that has to begin immediately in Italy in order to invest in hospitals and transport, creating employment. We have proposed to build infrastructure in the healthcare sector to create 10,000 beds at a cost of €1.5 billion, which is equivalent to 2% of the contributions that we receive from Europe. These are resources that we need to use to create employment and relaunch demand in Italy. We have to use these resources that already exist. We have available 28 billion of structural funds that have yet to be spent, real money that we could use right now,” he said.

“The Genoa Bridge has shown us that we can give work for a year to 1,000 people and at the same time give to the region an essential piece of infrastructure within a timeframe never seen before. It is a very unique project for us. It has been an emotional as well as a professional experience for all of us. Together with Fincantieri, we put to work our best technicians with their expertise and experience acquired on some of the most iconic infrastructure projects in the world. It is a symbolic project, for which we were more than ready to offer our services to the country. It is a project that evokes the hope of Italy’s rebirth. In this joining of forces, we have tried to do our part in realising this dream. Not only were we committed to building the bridge as quickly as possible with the highest level of quality but we also decided to have Salini Impregilo donate any profit that might come from the completed work. Born out of a tragedy for the city and the entire country, it became a symbol of redemption for Italy, which brought together its best companies, technicians and engineers. Their commitment saw to it that the structure of the bridge was completed in only 10 months, from the first pile of the foundation to the raising the last span of the deck. We overcame every obstacle: time, the adverse weather conditions associated with the city by the sea, technical difficulties and the pandemic. And we did it thanks to the spirit of collaboration shown by the regional and national public institutions, especially the Extraordinary Commissioner’s Office and the Region’s administration; architect Renzo Piano, who conceived the project; Italferr, which designed it; Rino Consulting, which directed the works; Fincantieri Infrastructure, our partner in the PerGenova joint-venture responsible for the construction of the bridge; the subcontractors; and, above all, the people who put their heart into the project. It has also been thanks to the dedication shown by the professionals who we brought to Genoa from other projects: Nicola Meistro, General Manager Domestic Operations Salini Impregilo and Chief Executive of Pergenova, who was working on Terzo Valico dei Giovi and the Brenner Base Tunnel; Francesco Poma, Senior Project Manager Italia Salini Impregilo and Project Manager in charge of the operational aspects of the project, who was also on the Terzo Valico dei Giovi project; Stefano Mosconi, Construction Manager Salini Impregilo and Site Supervisor for the bridge, who was responsible of the technical part of the Austrian site of the excavation of the Brenner tunnel; Renzo Rossi, Senior Production Manager Salini Impregilo and Site Manager of the bridge; and all the workers and trainees who grew with us throughout this important challenge.

We have shown that it is possible to work in safety during the CODIV-19 emergency thanks to measures taken and the commitment of hundreds of people on site, many of whom are far from their families for weeks at a time. We have shown that it is possible to complete a project within the allotted time in Italy. All that is needed is that everyone is ready to do it and willing to row together in the same direction. The bridge unites the heart of the country, the men and women of every region, from the sea of Sicily to the mountains of Lombardy, side by side, making a dream reality. It is for this reason that the project is the ideal flag of the brings together the peoples and cultures that make Italy a great country and makes its soul special. The values on which the bridge was built stem from the time of the Risorgimento and the ideals that this period have given us, synthesized by music, the national anthem and the tricolor that flies over the construction site. We are men and woman who build. We have the responsibility to be put our expertise and commitment at the service of our country because Italy continues to be synonymous with excellence in the world.”