(see related story on Messina) Premier Matteo Renzi has said that controversial plans to connect Sicily to mainland Italy via a bridge across the Strait of Messina will come to fruition one day. However, the premier also said that the project is not a priority for his government. "Of course it will be built, the problem is when," Renzi said in an interview for an upcoming book by veteran TV journalist Bruno Vespa. "Now before we talk about the bridge, let's sort out the water in Messina, the purifiers and clean-ups.
"We are investing two billion euros in Sicily over the next five years for roads and railways. And then we'll build the bridge". The seemingly moribund project, a former hobby horse of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, returned to the fore in October when the junior government partner, the New Centre Right, passed a motion calling for a reassessment of the feasibility of the bridge for rail traffic only.
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