MILAN, March 26, 2021 – “The level of infrastructure investment in Italy is among the lowest in Europe. In 2020, it represented only 2.6% of GDP. In the last six years, about €90 billion was invested in the sector, an amount that has been reduced bit by bit. And, today, we expect about 22% of the funds in the Recovery Plan will be dedicated to infrastructure. If this is true, and if these will be the only funds earmarked for infrastructure, we will see investments continue to diminish compared to previous years. So, I hope that the resources in the Recovery Plan are treated as additional funds and not simply as a substitute,” Webuild Group Chairman Donato Iacovone said during a live streaming of the March 25 virtual event “Global Economic Forum ESG89 – Logistics and Infrastructure. Sustainable Italy.” organised by ESG89 Group, which promotes B2B relations.

“In a country that has lost confidence in the future, it is not only the public sector that does not invest but even the private sector, (a country where) savings have meanwhile exceeded 1.8 billion. Public and private investment has reached 7.6% of GDP, with the private end contributing 5%, a figure that is less than in France, Spain and Germany,” he said.

Iacovone also said it would be necessary to create a sovereign fund capable of channelling this large amount of private savings into infrastructure investment. “It’s obvious that Italy cannot count just on the support of the public sector. The country is in so much debt, and it will be even more so after the pandemic. We absolutely have to convince private funds to invest in infrastructure and move towards a more modern method of project financing – something that has never taken off in Italy because there have not been sufficiently adequate incentives.”

Iacovone also noted how the presence of Webuild Group in Italy is inferior to those of sector peers in their respective domestic markets. “I hope that this percentage can grow in light of the forecasts for new investments and that infrastructure projects get unblocked.” Most of all, it is important to get out of this pandemic quickly by accelerating the vaccination programme. “Companies like ours are investing a lot in terms of commitment and resources to guarantee that strategic construction sites keep operating in the country.”