Bidders Are Wary of Italy’s Plans To Span Messina Strait
Italys state-owned promoter of the ambitious, 3.7-kilometer-long, $6-billion Messina Strait bridge to Sicily is putting a brave face on the dwindling band of international contractors interested in bidding. Some of Europe's biggest players have pulled out because of inadequate time needed to prepare bids for what they see as such a risky project.
A bid date extension last month from April 20 to May 25 by owner Stretto di Messina S.p.A., Rome, failed to keep one team in play. By then, Paris-based Vinci Group had pulled out from another joint venture. Necessary engineering work "was impossible to be done in six months," says a Vinci spokeswoman. Firms from Japan and Spain also are believed to have quit. The two remaining teams have mostly Italian firms.