Skip to main content

Italian highway investments

The Italian island of Sicily is to benefit from major investment in its road network, in a move designed to help boost its economy.
March 5, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The Italian island of Sicily is to benefit from major investment in its road network, in a move designed to help boost its economy. Sicily is one of the most economically-challenged areas of Italy and revitalising its economy has been seen as crucial to the long term future of the country as a whole.

As part of the economic plan devised for the island, Italy's public highway concessionary 1184 ANAS will invest over €7 billion in Sicily's road network. This includes over €2 billion in ongoing work and more than €4.1 billion in scheduled activity.

Featuring some 20% of Italy's major road network, Sicily represents a major investment goal for ANAS in terms of both maintenance and new construction. ANAS has already invested approximately €1 billion in Sicily between 2006 and the start of 2011.

Meanwhile Autostrade per l´ Italia (APSI) and Italian motorway group Gavio will handle a €150 million contract with Italy's public motorway concessionary ANAS. The deal involves setting up Italy's first free-flow highway toll system along 800km of road. When construction is finished, ownership of the system will revert to ANAS. In addition, APSI is also part of a consortium that has a €2 billion tolling contract from the French Government. This deal is to implement and manage a satellite system to track heavy-goods vehicles over almost 15,000km of road. And in the north of the country, a tunnel looks to be the most likely solution to the need for a new road link the Mortirolo Pass. This new tunnel would connect the Italian provinces of Brescia and Sonrio. The project would require the construction of a 7km tunnel and would be likely to cost in the region of €350 million to build. The plan to improve the road link between the provinces follows an earlier co-operation agreement aimed at helping promote economic development through investments in transport infrastructure.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Denmark concerned over rising cost of Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link
    February 19, 2015
    The Danish government is in talks with contractors over the latest rise in cost estimates for the proposed prestigious Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link between Denmark and Germany. Contractors have estimated an extra €295.5 million will be needed. This is in addition to a statement last November by the contracting company Femern saying that costs had risen nearly €900 million. The total rise price hike is nearly €1.2 billion. This puts the final cost of the 18km tunnel including two railway tunnels, two motorway tun
  • Iran highway deal for Italian firm
    July 18, 2016
    An Italian roads company will handle the programme for a major road construction and management project in Iran. Anas International Enterprise (AIE), a subsidiary of Italian state-owned firm Anas, is in charge of the work. This contract is for the construction and management of 1,200km of motorways in Iran. The package of works was awarded by the Iranian Ministry of Roads & Urban Development, with a projected cost of US$3.98 billion in all to construct all the routes required. A feasibility study is planned
  • Consortium awarded major Italian highway concession
    June 15, 2021
    A consortium has been awarded a major Italian highway concession.
  • India plans major infrastucture investment
    February 10, 2012
    India says it turned its Commonwealth Games into a world-class success, and now it aims to do the same with its infrastructure. Patrick Smith reports. On October, 2010 India put itself on the world stage, and disaster appeared to loom as a catalogue of problems dogged its biggest ever sporting event. Costing nearly US$2 billion to stage, the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever were, according to some, in doubt.