Three weeks after the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa, he speaks Gilberto Benetton, head of the family shareholder of Atlantia, the company that controls Autostrade per l'Italia.
In an interview given to Corriere della Sera, Benetton reiterates its condolences for the 43 victims and its closeness to their families, rejecting the accusations of "disinterest" received after the tragedy: "In our parts, silence is considered a sign of respect".
The manager also tries to extinguish the controversies related to the confirmation by Fabio Cerchiai to the presidency of Aspi and Atlantia: "If mistakes have been made in the case of Autostrade, when the incident has been fully ascertained, the decisions that will be right will be taken", said the entrepreneur from Veneto.
To the accusations of having received favoritism from politics, especially in relation to the very favorable economic conditions provided by the concession contracts, Benetton replies as follows: “Regarding the economic conditions of the concessions, I can only say that those of Autostrade per l'Italia are very similar to those of motorway operators from all over the world”.
The tragedy in Genoa will not lead to the exit of Edizione, the family holding company, from the infrastructure sector: "We are long-term investors and infrastructure needs patient capital. I remember that when we took over Autostrade it had a turnover of 2 billion euros, all in Italy. Today Atlantia, with Abertis, will have a turnover of over 11 billion euros and with the weight of international activities equal to more than 50%," Benetton told the Courier, finally also confirming the Abertis operation: "it is a very important operation for Atlantia and for Italy, an operation which has been closed and defined and which, led by the managing director of Atlantia, Giovanni Castellucci, will continue as planned".
The words of the owner of Atlantia seem to have reassured the investors of Business Square. After a nightmare August, in which the stock lost almost 30% of its value, today the shares gain 1,7% to 15,505 euros. Towards the end of the morning, the stock accelerated its rise in the wake of the words of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. In an interview with the Huffington Post he explained that for the concession of Autostrade per l'Italia and the reconstruction of the Morandi bridge in Genoa, “nationalization is not the only answer. We will also evaluate this solution but we cannot rule out a new tender". The stock, which in the first part of the session had registered a modest increase, has put itself into top gear and rises at 12:51 by 2,73% to 17,675 euros per share, the highest for the day. Despite today's recovery, Atlantia still loses more than 29% compared to August 13, the day before the tragedy in Genoa.
Updated at 13:07 on 6 September 2018
