Venice's MOSE flood barriers
will be handed over to the city council at the end of 2021 to
protect the lagoon city from acqua alta or high water levels,
according to the 2018 balance sheet of the Consorzio Venezia
Nuova consortium.
The innovative and complex system of barriers, which cost 74
million euros in 2018 alone, will be completed at the end of
June 2020, ushering in the final phase of testing.
Launched in 2003 and originally slated for completion in
2016, the MOSE project to build a system of retractable dikes
has been at the centre of a slew of corruption scandals.
MOSE stands for MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, or
Experimental Electromechanical Module, and echoes Moses of
parting the Red Sea fame.
The 5.5 billion euro (up by 1.3 billion form the first
estimate) project is intended to protect the city of Venice and
the Venetian Lagoon from flooding.
The project is an integrated system consisting of rows of
mobile gates installed at the Lido, Malamocco, and Chioggia
inlets that are able to isolate the Venetian Lagoon temporarily
from the Adriatic Sea during acqua alta high tides.
Together with other measures, such as coastal reinforcement,
the raising of quaysides, and the paving and improvement of the
lagoon, MOSE is designed to protect Venice and the lagoon from
tides of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft).
The Consorzio Venezia Nuova is responsible for the work on
behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport - Venice
Water Authority.
Construction began simultaneously in 2003 at all three lagoon
inlets, and as of June 2013, more than 85% of the project had
been completed.
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