The government on Thursday approved
Italy's new public contracts code with a decree enacting a
reform to make public procurement simpler and more transparent.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Graziano Delrio
described the text as a "substantial reform aiming to finally
bring the public works system up to the level of a great
European country".
The new code brings Italy in line with three EU directives
and contains 217 rather than the previous 600 articles.
It puts an end to the practice of awarding contracts to the
lowest bidder, among other things.
"The choice reconciles price and quality," Delrio said.
The minister added that the new code regulates the question
of public concessions for the first time.
"The operational risk is now carried by the private
concessionaire," Delrio explained.
"It may seem banal, but it's a revolution," he added.
The new procurement code also puts a brake on the use of
extraordinary procedures, instead putting the emphasis on good
programming and public utility as a criterion for the choice of
works to be carried out.
Further, it introduces a more incisive role for the
national anti-corruption authority headed by former anti-mafia
magistrate Raffaele Cantone.
"We will make sure its new responsibilities are matched by
new resources," Delrio said.
Regarding the building of a bridge across the Strait of
Messina to connect Sicily with mainland Italy, which Premier
Matteo Renzi earlier said would happen "eventually", Delrio said
the premier's comments were "absolutely to be shared".
"We are continuing to work on priorities, without
forgetting this prospect, we are absolutely on the same page,"
he said.
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