Since 2016, Italian governments have allocated 140 billion euros for public infrastructure, but less than 4% of this amount has been spent. The estimate – drawn up by ANCE – was relaunched by Assonime, which presented a report on infrastructure policy in Rome on Tuesday.
On the day in which the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, announces an investment plan for this sector in an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore, the Association of joint-stock companies points out that the number one problem of our country is not the lack of financial resources.
SLOW TIMES: ABOVE 100 THOUSAND EUROS NEED MORE THAN 15 YEARS
According to a recent study by the Agency for territorial cohesion – Assonime recalls – in Italy “the average completion time for public works is 4,4 years and varies from 2,6 years for projects with a value of less than 100 thousand euros to 15,7 .XNUMX years” for those with a value above this threshold.
PA PAYMENTS: IN ITALY DOUBLE TIMES COMPARED TO EU RULES
To this slowness must be added the delays in payments by the public administrations. The trade credit platform at the Mef shows that the average payment time is still 55 days, about double the maximum set by European legislation (30 days).
“The combined impact of the crisis and late payments has been disruptive – reads the report – According to ANCE data, in the last 10 years 120 companies have been forced to close and around 600 jobs have been lost”.
CIPOLLETTA: "INFRASTRUCTURES FLY TO GROW, BUT ARE BLOCKED"
“The country is sliding towards the third recession in 10 years and we are still far from the income levels of 2008 – underlines Innocenzo Cipolletta, president of Assonime – To counteract this trend, an important contribution must come from the infrastructural system, which is a decisive driving force for economic growth. But in Italy there are projects already in the pipeline that remain blocked, at a standstill".
PUBLIC INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE: -30% IN 10 YEARS
In the meantime, the share of resources allocated to infrastructure is also decreasing. Gaetano Maccaferri, coordinator of the working group that produced the report, speaks of a "national emergency: in absolute value, spending on public investments in infrastructure decreased from 47 billion in 2007 to 36 billion in 2016, to then drop again to 34 billion in 2017 and 33 billion in 2018”.
In the face of these numbers, the plan announced by Conte is welcomed by Cipolletta, who however underlines the "lack of technical elements relating to the project", hoping that they will arrive "in the next few days".
CASSESE: "COUNT'S PROMISES ARE NOTHING"
Much more polemical Sabino Cassese, judge emeritus of the Constitutional Court: “Who tells us that the Prime Minister speaks on behalf of the unity of the Government, as foreseen by the Constitution? Uncertainty in political leadership is the main reason for blocking public works. Furthermore, the President's interview is an act of distrust towards the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, who is not even mentioned and in my opinion should resign (this is the same minister according to whom 'there are no public works blocked in Italy') . The prime minister thinks that in Italy, once the law has been passed, the problem will be solved. But that's not the case at all: then we need a decree, a regulation. The rules are made to hinder the realization of the works, not to favor it. Conte's promises are useless".
