Turin Metro Line 1: construction work at risk of being halted – mayors call for 70 million and a commissioner
After more than 200 million has already been invested and following years of construction work, the extension of Turin’s only underground line towards the town of Rivoli is at risk of being halted due to the crisis facing the contractor
A letter to Palazzo Chigi to save the metro line beneath the Mole. The crisis facing the contractor could halt the Fermi-Cascine Vica extension, and mayors are calling for urgent action. After more than 200 million has already been invested and following years of construction work, the extension of Turin’s only metro line towards the town of Rivoli is at risk of being halted due to a corporate crisis.
The mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, has joined forces with the mayors of Collegno, Grugliasco and Rivoli – Matteo Cavallone, Emanuele Gaito and Alessandro Errigo – to campaign for the infrastructure. They have called for urgent action to save the construction site in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini and the chairs of the relevant parliamentary committees in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
The risk of bankruptcy
The crisis facing the contractor (Italiana Costruzioni Infrastrutture) had led it to apply for a composition with creditors, a procedure designed to avoid bankruptcy. The problem is the decision by the Rome court on 16 June, which declared the proposal for a composition with creditors inadmissible. The risk is that the works will come to a standstill and that it will be necessary to put them out to tender again.
The contracts had been awarded between 2019 and 2020, before the sharp rise in prices affecting materials, energy and construction. According to estimates provided by the mayors, around €70 million is now needed to complete the project. This figure also includes around €40 million in additional costs relating to other contracts linked to the civil engineering works.
A commissioner to get the project back on track
The section in question, between Fermi and Cascine Vica, would extend Line 1 beyond Collegno, towards Rivoli. Since 2019, residents of the areas west of Turin have had to put up with restrictions, diversions and disruption due to the construction works. For this reason, Lo Russo, Cavallone, Gaito and Errigo are calling for an urgent meeting with the Ministry of Infrastructure and a parliamentary hearing to discuss a solution and ensure that the work already carried out is not wasted.
