(Finance) – The construction project of the bridge over the Strait of Messina to connect Calabria and Sicily will receive funding from the EU for over 24.7 million eurosThe bridge is one of the 134 transport projects selected by the European Commission which will receive a total of more than 7 billion euros of grants under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU instrument for strategic investments in infrastructure. “The project aims to complete the technical design of the rail-road bridge over the Strait of Messina, to connect the Calabria Region and the island of Sicily. The main benefit of the project will be to prepare the future construction of the bridge. construction of the bridge”, the Commission explained.
“About 83% of the funding will support projects that achieve the climate goals of the UAnd by improving and modernising the EU network of railways, inland waterways and maritime routes along the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). Rail projects will receive 80% of the EUR 7 billion. In addition, the revised TEN-T Regulation will enter into force as of tomorrow, July 18 – the Commission said in a note –. The funding will be earmarked for major projects to improve cross-border rail connections along the TEN-T core network — in the Baltic Member States (Rail Baltica), between France and Italy (Lyon-Turin) and between Denmark and Germany (Fehmarnbelt Gallery)”.
About 20 seaports in Ireland, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Malta, Lithuania, Cyprus, Croatia, Greece and Poland will receive support for infrastructure upgrades, some of which will enable them to supply shore-side electricity to ships or transport renewable energy. Work on the infrastructure of inland waterways will improve cross-border connections between France and Belgium in the basin Seine-Scheldt and between Romania and Bulgaria on Danube. Inland ports in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands will also receive funding to continue promoting the European network of rivers and canals for sustainable transport.
For what concern road transportthe launch of cooperative intelligent transport systems and services (ITS) and the creation of new safe and secure parking areas will increase safety for both citizens and professionals. The management projects of the traffic airplane will continue to develop a Single European Sky so that air transport becomes more efficient, safer and more sustainable.
“Finally, several projects will enable increased capacity along the EU-Ukraine solidarity corridorsestablished to facilitate imports and exports between Ukraine and the EU – the Commission noted –. These projects concern: improvement of road transport infrastructure at border crossings between Ukraine, Moldova and Romania; work to increase capacity at the Hungary-Ukraine railway border crossing; a new section of road in Poland extending to the border with Ukraine; and studies and works to integrate the Ukrainian railway system into the EU”.