Italian government revokes contract of company responsible for collapsed Genoese motorway

The Italian government confirmed Wednesday, after an extraordinary council of ministers held in Genoa, that it intends to revoke the concession of Autostrade per l’Italia, the company  managing the section of highway that collapsed on Tuesday leaving at least 39 dead.

“We have already announced that we will launch the procedure for revoking the concession of Autostrade,” said Prime Mininster Giuseppe Conte, during a press conference.

“We will allow the criminal investigators to do their duty, but we can not wait for the deadlines of the criminal justice system,” he said.

“We have an obligation to ensure all citizens travel safely, so we move forward and we will revoke the concession because there is no doubt (…) that Autostrade had the duty and the obligation to ensure the maintenance of this viaduct and the safety of all those who traveled on it,” he said.

On Wednesday morning, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Danilo Toninelli, announced that he had initiated a procedure for a possible revocation of the concessions of this company which manages nearly half of the 6.000 km of highways in Italy.

The Genoa viaduct collapsed “because maintenance has not been done,” Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said, adding, “The officials have a name and a first name, and they are Autostrade per l’Italia”

It is still unclear whether Giuseppe Conte’s statements concerned only the Genoese section of  Italy’s motorways or all of those managed by Autostrade per l’Italia.