'Utility to pay for sinkhole damage'

(ANSA) - Florence, May 26 - Florence Mayor Dario Nardella on Thursday said that public water utility Publiacqua will pay for damages incurred as a result of the sinkhole that opened up in the centre of the city on the Arno River embankment on Wednesday.
    An initial estimate put the cost of damages at five million euros for the sinkhole, which was blamed on a burst water pipe and caused huge damage but no injuries.
    Nardella said that the majority shareholders in Publiacqua are public and that the majority shareholder among the public shareholders is the City of Florence, for which Nardella serves as the legal representative.
    The Florence mayor met with Cabinet Secretary Luca Lotti on Wednesday evening to discuss the situation.
    "First we'll start and Publiacqua will put the money in, then we'll see what the government can do to help us," Nardella said.
    He said that the Florence city council has decided to lower some taxes for one year on businesses in the area of Lungarno Torrigiani where the sinkhole is located, not far from the Ponte Vecchio.