Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said the government will address the Strait of Messina bridge issues that led the Audit Court to block approval on Wednesday.
The court rejected the 13.5-billion-euro project on Wednesday and will release the reasons for its decision within 30 days.
“We await the findings of the Audit Court, which we are convinced we can respond to point by point, with extreme calm,” Salvini said after a meeting at the prime minister’s office. He added that construction, originally planned to begin in November, will now likely start in February.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other senior government members criticised the ruling, calling it another example of judicial interference in political matters. The decision came one day before the Senate is due to approve a major judicial reform that would separate the career paths of judges and prosecutors.
Meloni described the court’s move as “another act of invasion of jurisdiction over the choices of the government and Parliament”. She said the planned constitutional and Audit Court reforms are “the most appropriate response to this intolerable intrusiveness, which will not stop the government’s action”.
The CIPESS economic planning committee approved the bridge in August. Salvini has said the bridge, barring issues, should be operational by 2032 or 2033 once construction begins.
