Transport and Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninelli has said it is possible for the government to reach a deal with France to stop the controversial TAV Turin-Lyon high-speed rail link.
"We'll reach an agreement with France to not have the TAV," Toninelli said in an excerpt of a interview in a new book by journalist Bruno Vespa that has been released ahead of publication.
"I hear that (French President Emmanuel) Macron has said the TAV is not an infrastructure priority after assessing the costs and benefits.
"And he has not allocated funds for the Lyon tunnel".
Toninelli also dismissed as "all wrong" the assertion by TAV Commissioner Paolo Foiella that halting the project would lead to penalties of two billion euros for the State. Toninelli's 5-Star Movement (M5S) has long protested against the TAV and the contract of government it signed with the League said the project should be reconsidered.
Premier Giuseppe Conte stressed Tuesday that a decision on the project has not yet been made, saying it depends on the outcome of a cost-benefit analysis coming soon.
"We are finishing the cost-benefit analysis," Conte said during a visit to New Delhi.
"The executive is committed to reviewing this project by the contract.
"We are trying to take care of all the details. It is the same method used with the TAP," he added, referring to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in Puglia.
Last week Conte said the TAP would go ahead.
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