Friday,
November 10, 2006
Mose Project to Stop
The
ANNOTICO Report
The
Mose Project (acronym for Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanicop-and is
also a play on the Italian name for Moses, Mose.) was
thought to be in jeopardy with the new Prodi
Government, but the Prodi cabinet today voted to
continue the project, basically because No viable other alternatives have
been offered by critics.
Bloomberg News
By Flavia Krause-Jackson
Friday November 10, 2006
The project,
slated for completion in 2011, oversea the construction of 78 floodgates that
can be raised by 110 centimeters (43 inches) to keep water from entering
Mose has drawn criticism from
environmentalists for the possible damage the barriers will cause to an already
polluted and trafficked lagoon. The project risked getting suspended with the
arrival in May of the new government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi, which includes the Green party and the Communists,
among the project's fiercest detractors. Venice Mayor Massimo Cacciari, elected in 2005, is also opposed.
The cabinet today
voted to continue the project for lack of other alternatives, according to a
statement released by the prime minister's office. Three ministers -- Alfonso
Pecoraro Scanio, Paolo Ferrero,
Fabio Mussi -- voted against
and two abstained.
About 1.5 billion
euros ($1.9 billion) has already been put forward to finance the project,
leaving the government with the task of raising a further 3.1 billion to fund
completion. Cacciari has argued there are cheaper
alternatives to Mose. Just over 20 percent of the
dikes have already been built.
To contact the
reporter on this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson in
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ANNOTICO Reports
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