Bridge to Sicily

In an attempt to boost Italian economic performance the Italian govenment has revived plans to build a bridge linking mainland Italy to Sicily.

The Messina Bridge would have a centre span of 3.3km and would make it the longest in the world. It was scrapped as a project in 2006 but is now back in favor. It forms part of a £15.9bn public spending package to create new jobs and boost the economy. Funding for the bridge project would come from both public and private funds. Other projects included in the package include new urban railways, motorway expansion, prison and school construction and a flood barrier system in Venice.

It is clear than the Italian government is seeking to inject funds into the circular flow of income and with multiplier effects cause a Keynesian boost to the economy.

Work on the bridge is to begin later this year. The project has been criticised firstly on safety grounds as the bridge would span a busy shipping lane and be exposed to high winds. The second criticism is that it is feared that much of the money will be siphoned of by the Sicilian and Calabrian mafia, who between them control most of the public works projects in the south of Itlay. A rather unusual negative externality!

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