AUTOSTRADE PER L’ITALIA: THE INVESTIGATION CONCERNS NOISE BARRIERS, PRESENT ON 60 OF 3,000 KM OF THE NETWORK AND ALREADY MADE SAFE FROM THE END OF 2019. AT THE BEGINNING OF 2020 REPLACEMENT PLAN WITH MIT DEFINED
Rome, Wednesday 11 November 2020 - The investigation by the Genoa Public Prosecutor, which this morning led to precautionary measures against 4 former managers of ASPI and two technicians (one working for the Genoa regional office and the other transferred to a subsidiary, the Mont Blanc Tunnel), concerns a specific type of integrated anti-noise barriers, called "Integautos", placed along about 60km of the 3,000km of the Autostrade per l'Italia's network. The company became aware of the investigation on 10 December 2019, following a seizure order of documentation notified to it by the Finance Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Genoa, as communicated by the company in its last the interim report.
All these barriers have been verified and made safe through appropriate technical interventions completed between the end of 2019 and January 2020, as part of the general assessment of the infrastructures implemented by the company on its entire network. At the beginning of 2020, a replacement plan of these barriers has been defined in agreement with the Grantor. The plan envisages three phases: a first preparatory phase, currently underway. A second phase planned for the second half of 2021 for the replacement of the barriers in the points most exposed to noise. A subsequent third phase to complete the replacement on all the other points.
In April 2020 the Board of Directors of ASPI approved the cost of approximately 170 million euros for such full replacement. Cost that will be fully borne by the company.
All the monitoring and safety procedures, as well as the technical solutions for the replacement of the noise barriers, have been defined by ASPI together with the technical bodies in charge of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
About the two employees involved, the Company has activated the procedures provided for in the contract for an immediate suspension from their office.
ASPI will also evaluate any further interventions for its own protection on the basis of the results of the official investigation.
