Campaign For A Living Venice

The conclusion of the massive project is delayed again. Linetti announced the delay to the Environmental Commission during a visit to the building yards

By Alberto Vitucci

28 March 2019

VENEZIA. MoSE will not be finished on time. The horizon for the massive project has been moved forward once again. “In these conditions it is impossible to respect the commitment of 31 December 2021”, said Superintendent of Public Works Roberto Linetti yesterday morning, speaking to members of the Environmental Commission of the Camera, who were in Venice to make an inspection. The delegation was led by president Alessandro Benvenuto of the Lega, secretary Federico Antonio, with Venetian parliamentarians Nicola Pellicani (Pd) and Giorgia Andreuzza (Lega). They visited the building yards at Lido, then the Basilica di San Marco, to evaluate in person the damage to the marble and the bricks caused by the last record acqua alta, and the increased frequency of medium level seas. In the afternoon they met in the Prefecture with groups, industries, institutions, the Procuratoria di San Marco and the Capitaneria. “It was a very useful visit”, commented Pellicani, “and the commission has taken note of some of the problems that had already emerged during last autumn’s hearings. This major project is going slowly, we are at 94% complete, but the facilities are lacking. We are waiting for the nomination of a commissioner, who should be a technician. It certainly should not be Mayor Brugnaro”.

“This is a necessity”, reiterated Pellicani, “because as we’ve been able to see, today the yards are at a standstill, the projects are late. There are 900 million Euro available, but it is not possible to quickly jumpstart all these projects and jobs. So, the completion date will slide again”.

President Benvenuto, from Torino, compared MoSE to the Piedmont Region skyscraper. “This too is finished but not yet tested, with broken glass, and never used”. Simply put, it’s incomplete. “It’s a multifaceted project that needs to be brought to completion and made to work. We will make sure of this”.

In the afternoon the Procuratoria di San Marco presented to the commissioners a list of the damages incurred in the Basilica. The president of the Industriali, Vicenzo Marinese, listed the bureaucratic delays in the cleanup of industrial areas slated for recovery, and asked for concrete actions.

The businesses of the Consorzio and Thetis reiterated their availability to continue the work already planned. The first priority is to address the points of failure and problems. Underwater tubes ruptured, which have not yet been replaced, internal corrosion of some of the dams, maintenance and reinforcement. Meanwhile of the three firms that participated in bidding on the maintenance work at Treporti, two (Cimolai and Brodosplit) were excluded 15 days ago for lacking licenses. Now a decision is awaited on the one remaining candidate, Fincantieri.

Source: La Nuova Venezia