Today’s major infrastructure projects are shaping the Italy of tomorrow. The future is tightly bound to decisions made today because each project follows a life cycle, from concept to planning, from construction to maintenance – a process that in most cases takes more than a decade. It is essential, therefore, to query whether it is worth implementing any given infrastructure project over the long term, in terms of its capacity to meet the needs for which it was conceived.
Italy exists in an environment of strong international competition, where countries like China have made huge infrastructure investments (for example, the Chinese have laid 42,000 km of high-speed rail since 2007). Italy, however, has been held back by a complex decision-making system and by an inefficient bureaucracy – factors that hinder the construction of major works. Against this background it is important to underscore that even the decision not to build infrastructure has serious consequences – not just in economic but also in social terms. One obvious example is Africa, where inadequate infrastructure is one of the main causes of migration. But in Italy too, the failure to build strategic projects has had a significant impact. A notable case in the public debate is the bridge over the Strait of Messina, which was conceived to link Sicily with the rest of the country and foster development in southern Italy. Its construction has been put on hold numerous times for political and economic reasons. It would be a fairly complex engineering project located in a region at high risk of earthquakes and thus requiring a much higher safety factor than average for major works in Italy. Another factor affecting the project is economic sustainability, which will depend on integration with the country’s rail and motorway networks and on the actual use of the bridge (average daily traffic, ADT).
In any case, much of Italy’s infrastructure dates from the 1960s and 1970s and has reached or exceeded its estimated 50-year technical lifespan. The Autostrada del Sole, which links Naples and Milan, was a vital factor in unifying the country; today, it is a clear example of infrastructure that requires a serious maintenance and upgrading plan. In other stretches of the motorway network, failure to perform regular structural maintenance has already led to tragedies such as the Morandi Bridge collapse in Genoa. This underscores the urgent need to adopt a preventive approach in the management and upkeep of public works. Innovations like self-healing concrete, building information modeling (BIM), and robotics applied to structural diagnostics could improve infrastructure management and cut maintenance costs through targeted preventive measures. However, their wider deployment is still limited by legislative and regulatory delays and a bureaucratic system that obstructs the adoption of advanced technologies.
The Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) envisages investments of 206 billion euros in this sphere: a historic opportunity to modernize Italy’s infrastructure. However, the future of the construction sector after the Plan expires in June 2026 remains to be seen. The main problem lies not just in building new public works, but also in regenerating existing infrastructure. Too many projects are launched without a long-term vision and risk becoming obsolete even before completion. To prevent this, it will be necessary to simplify the Public Contracts Code, improve the way public procurement tenders are managed, and cut red tape to increase competitiveness in the sector.
The infrastructure debate in Italy is often influenced by short-term political decisions. One example is the nuclear power referendum of 1987 which, by blocking research and development in this strategic sector, ensured that Italy would remain dependent on energy imports. Similarly, the debate on the Strait of Messina bridge or on waste-to-energy incinerators has frequently been influenced by the “fear strategy”, where the risk is that purely ideological considerations will prevent the implementation of works that are in fact decisive for the country’s economic future. In other countries, even those with governments of an opposing political orientation, major public works are taken forward with a long-term strategic vision and the continuity that is essential to their construction.
The failure to invest in infrastructure has cost Italy very dear: an estimated 100 billion euros per year in terms of lost growth and competitiveness. A paradigm change is therefore needed, one where the country builds not just in response to current needs but to ensure a sound and robust future for coming generations. Infrastructure is the foundation of a country’s economic and social development. Politicians have a responsibility to slash red tape and the delays it causes and to enable the adoption of innovative technologies and plan strategically for the future. Government, especially at the local level, must not fuel sterile debates influenced by the “consensus trap”, which is fueled in turn by nimbyism and thus plays a part in paralyzing projects and initiatives.
Italy has all the technical and engineering skills and expertise needed to construct first-rate works but, without a far-sighted vision and proactive approach, the risk is that the country will lose competitiveness and that the well-being of future generations will be compromised. The future, in fact, depends on what Italy decides to build today.