Infrastructure, trains, healthcare lag in South says SVIMEZ

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 24 - Southern Italian industrial development agency SVIMEZ reiterated Wednesday that infrastructure, trains and healthcare were all lagging in the Mezzogiorno compared to the more affluent north of Italy.
    The large infrastructure gap between North and South is not being closed, it said.
    In fact, there are few railway tracks in southern Italy, high-speed trains only serve Campania, trams and metros are practically non-existent, and the level of satisfaction for buses and coaches is much lower than in other areas of the country.
    This is not to mention healthcare, where the number of beds in nursing homes per inhabitant is far lower than in the rest of the country and the gap with the Centre-North is 'macroscopic' in terms of facilities for the elderly.
    SVIMEZ issued the bleak picture in a hearing before parliament on fiscal federalism. (ANSA).