Filippo Arena, the secretary
general of Italy's antitrust authority, said Monday that the
government's decision to award the contract to build the viaduct
in Genoa that will replace the collapsed Morandi bridge without
a public tender was justifiable.
He also said the decision to exclude highways company
Autostrade per l'Italia (ASPI) from the reconstruction project
was acceptable.
"In the current situation, the awarding (of the work) via a
negotiated procedure seems justified," Arena told a Lower House
session on the government's decree for Genoa after the August
disaster in which 43 people died.
"This way of working must be limited to what is strictly
necessary to address the urgent situation and, in any case, must
respect the principles of transparency and non-discrimination".
He said the exclusion of the company with the concession to
collect tolls on this stretch of highway could be justified, but
the exclusion of other concessionaries would not be.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
