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Morandi Bridge must be rebuilt within 15 months, says Liguria governor

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Morandi Bridge must be rebuilt within 15 months, says Liguria governor
Giovanni Toti (third from right) at a commemoration ceremony one month after the Morandi Bridge collapse in Genoa. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

Italy's government must rebuild Genoa's collapsed Morandi Bridge within the next 12 to 15 months “maximum”, Giovanni Toti, governor of the Liguria region of which Genoa is the capital, told listeners to the radio station RTL 102.5 Monday.

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“We will not tolerate any delays in the reconstruction,” Toti said in an interview in which he heavily criticised the populist government’s continued failure to appoint a commissioner to oversee the bridge’s reconstruction.

“We started working with (Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe) Conte on a series of reconstruction measures with interested parties who had the authority to carry them out – then the government took another course,” the governor complained.

“We’re waiting on a decree that has started very badly and has left us out,” he added.

His comments coincided with President Sergio Mattarella’s visit to the Genoa Boat Show.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte blamed the hold-up on a delayed report from the Ministry of Finance, and said the decree would be presented in parliament tomorrow morning.

The Morandi motorway bridge, which was built in the 1960s, collapsed during a thunderstorm on August 14, killing 43 people and leaving more than 600 homeless.

An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the collapse.

READ ALSO: Italian government threatens to revoke motorway contract after Genoa bridge collapse

The bridge was managed by the company Autostrade per L’Italia, a subsidiary of the Milan Stock Exchange-listed company Atlantia.

Up to now Autostrade has insisted that it met all its obligations in maintaining the structure, and initially said it would re-build the bridge within eight months.

Italy’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninelli recently ruled out that possibility, however, saying that he intended to award the contract to a state-owned company, although Autostrade will be required to fund the reconstruction.

Toti told reporters that the government needs focus harder on the needs of Genoese residents.

“If I get into a car accident and my car is destroyed, those responsible need to be identified, but first I need to have my car repaired,” he told interviewers.

“Genoa cannot wait,” he concluded.

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