The tenders for the Tav undergo yet another postponement. This was established by the board of directors of Telt (Tunnel Euralpin Lyon Turin), the public promoter charged by Italy and France with the construction of the cross-border section of the Turin-Lyon railway line. The decision came in order to meet the wishes of Italy which requested a postponement of the two 2,3 billion euro tenders needed to start the excavation work in the base tunnel.
Be careful though, because the blanket is short. The postponement can only be for a few days. If everything doesn't start by March, there is the risk of losing 300 million euros of European contributions. For this reason, the negotiation between the parties involved - namely Italy, France and the European Union - promises to be close, with the last two intending not to give more discounts to our country which has been getting in the way of the TAV for months due to the opposition of the 5 Star Movement at work.
Why will 300 million be lost? Because Inea, the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency of the European Union, was very clear: if the tenders are not published in a timely manner, the amount of the contribution for the Turin-Lyon will be reduced by 300 million, thus going from 813 to just over 500 million. The same representative of the European Commission communicated this to Telt's board of directors.
Simply put, Brussels is willing to wait until March, then it will cut the contributions already allocated for the international section of corridor 5. A deadline which shows how Europe's patience on the TAV is about to run out: after the cost-benefit analysis they want to know what Italy's intentions are and are not willing to give the government months to try to agree on the project.
On the Tav however, Matteo Salvini he is optimistic: the project: ""can be reviewed, costs can be cut: we sit down at the table and if there is common sense, an agreement can be found", declared the deputy prime minister to Agorà
Instead, I criticize the comment of the Governor of Piedmont, Sergio Chiamparino: “The Conte-Salvini-Di Maio government is asking Telt for another postponement of the already funded Tav tenders, we will see how short it will actually be. Thus, from the willingness of the EU to finance 50% of the entire work, including the national routes, with significant savings for the Italians, we move on to the concrete risk of losing the contributions already allocated by Europe. It is the sign that in Italy on the Tav the world is going upside down”. The governor asks the government to stop “the electoral roundabout on the Tav and let a work go on which is necessary for growth, safety and the environment. They know that Piedmont will not let itself be put in a corner”.
