Interior Minister and Deputy Premier
Matteo Salvini said Friday that he thinks the TAV Turin-Lyon
high-speed rail link should go ahead following media reports
that Premier Giuseppe Conte has decided to scrap the
controversial project.
The premier's office played down the reports that Conte had
decided to meet demands from the 5-Star Movement (TAV) to bin
the TAV, saying assessments are still being made and nothing had
been decided.
"It is necessary to go ahead with the TAV, not go back," said
Salvini, the leader of the League, the M5S's partner in the
coalition government.
"A cost-benefit analysis should be done - is the project
necessary or not? Would it cost more to stop it or continue?".
The M5S, led by Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio,
has long campaigned for the TAV to be halted due to its cost and
environmental impact.
Earlier this week Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli
described the TAV as a "huge waste of public money" and said
that "no one should dare to sign off on advancing the line"
which is being built north of Turin amid constant protests.
On Friday the premier's office said that "the dossier is in
the investigation stage with the competent Minister Toninelli,
who is engaged in a cost-benefit evaluation that will be put to,
and shared with, the premier and the whole government. The
solution will be in line with the content of the government
contract".
It is estimated that around 1.5 billion euros has been spent
on the TAV and that it would cost some two billion more to pull
out.
Furthermore, halting the project would require a complicated
procedure to rescind an international treaty.
The French TAV committee said that there was "confusion in
Italy" and pointed out that, if the project is halted, "the
Italians will have to reimburse lots and lots of money.
A European Commission spokesperson said that "the Lyon-Turin
(line) is an important project not just for France and Italy,
but for the whole of Europe, and it is important that all the
parties maintain the commitments to complete it on time".
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