The administrative process for the Bridge over the Strait of Messina is progressing rapidly. The Dipe – Department for Economic Policy Planning and Coordination of the Presidency of the Council – has filed with the Rome headquarters of the Court of Auditors a substantial set of documents containing answers to the questions raised by the supervisory body.
The Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development (CIPESS) approved the final design of the Bridge over the Strait of Messina during its session on August 6, 2025. This represents a crucial step — a true turning point in the long history of this infrastructure, awaited for decades and often at the center of political, technical, and economic debate.
With this resolution, the Bridge was officially declared a project of public utility, a necessary condition to initiate expropriation procedures and begin the executive phase.
Thanks to this decision, Italy takes a decisive step toward realizing one of the most ambitious works in its modern history — an infrastructure designed to strengthen the connection between Calabria and Sicily and to project Southern Italy into a European and Mediterranean dimension of great significance.
Who approved it: CIPESS, the Government’s interministerial body responsible for economic planning and sustainable development.
When: During the session of August 6, 2025.
What was approved: The final design of the Bridge over the Strait of Messina, including the main and complementary works.
What it means: With this approval, the work is declared of public utility, the implementation process officially begins, and the project moves to the executive design phase.
The timeline foresees the opening of construction sites between September and October 2025. The initial phase will focus on the so-called “preliminary works”, essential preparatory interventions to ensure the proper organization of the main construction activities.
Construction of access roads to the work areas;
Setup of base camps and logistics areas;
Clearance of any unexploded ordnance from the subsoil;
Relocation and adjustment of existing underground utilities (water, power, telephone networks).
These operations, often invisible to the public, are essential to guarantee the safety and efficiency of the subsequent construction phase.
In parallel with the preliminary works, the executive design phase of the entire infrastructure will begin. This stage will define every technical detail — from materials and construction procedures to seismic and wind-resistance technologies, and environmental monitoring systems.
The goal set by the Government and the concessionaire Stretto di Messina S.p.A. is to complete and open the Bridge to traffic between 2032 and 2033. The work schedule foresees about seven to eight years of intensive construction, covering both the main structure — the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge, with 399-meter-high towers — and all road and railway connection works on both shores.
The approval of the final project is not just a technical or administrative act, but a political and strategic milestone of national importance. The Messina Bridge officially becomes a priority infrastructure for Italy, included in the European mobility corridors and recognized as a project of national public interest.
With the opening of construction sites and completion expected within the next decade, the Strait is preparing for a profound transformation — from a border area to a corridor of connection linking people, goods, cultures, and opportunities.
On August 5, 2025, a fundamental page was written in the history of the Strait of Messina Bridge. On that date, the construction contract was signed between the concessionary company Stretto di Messina S.p.A. and the Eurolink consortium, led by the Webuild group. The agreement, with a total value of 10.6 billion euros, represents the formal act that marks the start of the concrete execution of Italy’s most long-awaited and debated infrastructure project.
The signature came just days before another key moment: on August 6, 2025, CIPESS (the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development) approved the definitive project for the Bridge, declaring it to be of public utility. This step made it possible to begin the executive procedures, confirming the project’s technical and economic validity.
Signatories: On one side, the company Stretto di Messina S.p.A., the public concessionaire tasked with managing the project’s realization; on the other, the Eurolink consortium, a grouping of companies led by Webuild and already the winning bidder of the tender.
Date: The signing took place on August 5, 2025, in Rome, in a highly significant institutional context.
Value: The agreement amounts to 10.6 billion euros, a figure that includes the construction of the Bridge and its main connecting infrastructure.
Content: The act constitutes an addendum to the contract already in place between the concessionaire and the general contractor, confirming Eurolink as the entity responsible for building the Bridge and defining responsibilities, timelines, and execution methods.
The contract signing came after a detailed process marked by important institutional milestones.
Program Agreement: On July 16, 2025, a program agreement was signed involving the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Regions of Sicily and Calabria, the Stretto di Messina S.p.A. company itself, as well as Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and Anas. This agreement defined the roles of the various bodies and the financial commitments necessary to guarantee the project’s funding and coordinated management.
Approval of the Definitive Project: A few days later, on August 6, 2025, CIPESS gave the green light to the definitive project for the fixed link, declaring its public utility. This step consolidated the project’s technical, economic, and regulatory framework, making the contract signing and the start of execution phases possible.
As often happens with a project of this scale, the contract signing inevitably sparked contrasting reactions. On one hand, institutions and supporters hailed the agreement as a historic milestone, capable of revitalizing Southern Italy and positioning Italy at the center of European and Mediterranean routes. On the other hand, criticisms were not absent, relating to costs, environmental impacts, and alternative infrastructure priorities.
In the following days, the issue also reached Parliament, with the announcement of parliamentary questions and requests for clarification from some political groups. The debate concerns not only the economic resources employed but also the management of the timeline, guarantees of transparency, and the project’s real impact on the affected territories.
Despite the controversy, the signing of the contract on August 5, 2025, remains a crucial step: it marks the point of no return towards the start of construction sites and the actual realization of the Bridge. With this act, Italy commits to transforming a dream lasting over a century into a concrete reality, one that will radically change the country’s mobility, economy, and image.
The goal set by the concessionaire and the Government is ambitious: to open the construction sites by the end of 2025, begin the preliminary works, and complete the fixed link within the following decade, aiming for 2032-2033.
The contract signed between Stretto di Messina and Eurolink is therefore not just an administrative document, but a symbol of a collective commitment: to build the world’s longest bridge and, at the same time, to unite territories, communities, and prospects for development.
16 luglio 2025 – È stato firmato oggi, presso la sede del ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti, l’accordo di programma per interventi propedeutici e funzionali in relazione al Ponte sullo Stretto di Messina.
