Cdm skips, regulation for the Strait Bridge postponed

The Prime Minister's Meeting scheduled for this afternoon has been postponed: rumours have it that it will be reconvened for Monday, 19 May, when Palazzo Chigi will examine the Infrastructure Decree, which will also contain a rule on the Strait Bridge. The bill, which also contains measures for the Milan-Cortina Games and for the motorways, is still being examined by the Ragioneria, and there could be some problems with the coverage of some onerous chapters, such as the rule on the Winter Olympics with 828 million in funding.

The text of the measure contains an update of the costs of the Ponte sullo Stretto bridge, which will be recalculated on the basis of those originally established in the 2012 Nadef and which amounted to EUR 8.5 billion while today they are estimated at EUR 13.5 billion. The update also concerns the ancillary services covered by the contracts cancelled in 2012 by decision of the Monti government. In this case, the regulation provides that "for the purposes of the updating of the prices of the contracts cancelled with the other subjects entrusted with the services connected to the realisation of the work other than the general contractor, one proceeds, within the limits of as provided for in Article 72(1)(c) of the aforementioned Directive 2014/24/EU, the adjustment of the consideration to the required services on the basis of the updated value of the contract with the general contractor, as redetermined in accordance with this paragraph. The update cannot therefore exceed the ceiling of 50% of the original cost, under penalty of having to redo the entire procedure, including the tender. In addition, the Stretto di Messina company, which commissioned the work, is promoted to qualified contracting station and a technical advisory board is established in accordance with the rules of the Procurement Code for the extrajudicial settlement of disputes in public works also for contracts in progress, as in the case of the bridge. The members will be paid an indemnity reduced by 50% with respect to what is established in Legislative Decree 36/2023.

In the text circulating in these days, compared to the first draft, a rule has also appeared that concerns road haulage and tightens the loading and unloading times of goods: the provision now stipulates that a maximum of 90 minutes (and no longer 120) will be allowed for operations beyond which - and here lies the most important novelty - a penalty of 100 euros per hour or fraction of an hour will be imposed on the principal and the carrier. The decree then provides EUR 6 million for each of the years 2025 and 2026 for the renewal of the HGV fleet.