Italy approved a €13.5 billion plan to build a suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina, moving forward with a project intended to connect Sicily directly with the mainland. An interministerial committee overseeing strategic public investments endorsed the plan on August 6, 2025.
The proposed bridge would stretch nearly 3.7 kilometers overall, with a suspended span of about 3.3 kilometers. If completed as designed, that central span would exceed the current record held by Turkey's Canakkale Bridge. Plans call for three traffic lanes in each direction and a double-track railway.
The government says the crossing could handle 6,000 vehicles an hour and 200 trains a day. A car journey across the strait would take about 10 minutes, compared with ferry crossings that can take up to 100 minutes. Officials also say rail journeys could be shortened substantially.
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini described the bridge as a major infrastructure project for Italy and argued that it would stimulate investment and employment in the country's south. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said it would carry international engineering significance. Preliminary work was expected after review by Italy's court of audit, with construction projected to start in 2026 and completion targeted for 2032 or 2033.
The approval is the latest chapter in a proposal that Italian governments have repeatedly advanced and canceled since bids were first sought in 1969. Meloni's administration revived it in 2023. A consortium led by Italian infrastructure group Webuild holds the contract after first winning the project in 2006, before that version was stopped.
Supporters frame the bridge as a catalyst for transport and economic development. The government has also explored classifying it as dual-use infrastructure with strategic value for NATO movements. Critics dispute that argument and have raised concerns about costs, environmental effects, seismic risks and possible organized-crime involvement. Environmental groups have challenged the plans at European Union level, including over potential effects on migratory birds.
Italian authorities say ordinary anti-mafia controls will apply throughout the project. Salvini said protecting the supply chain from criminal interference would be a priority. The engineering team has also argued that suspension bridges can be designed for seismically active regions, while opponents continue to seek additional scrutiny.
The committee's decision gives the plan its strongest political authorization to date, but audit review, permitting, construction management and legal challenges will determine whether the long-discussed crossing is ultimately built.
