ROME, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The absence of the Morandi Bridge is costing the port city of Genoa and Italy's wealthy industrial Northwest region 784 million euros a year (891 million U.S. dollars) in lost gross domestic product (GDP), Confindustria industrialists association said in a report on Wednesday.
The Morandi Bridge was a vital piece of infrastructure built in the 1960s that linked Genoa's busy industrial port with the rest of the city, the region, and Europe. It fell apart on a busy day in mid-August, sending dozens of men, women and children hurtling to their deaths.
Over 200 families were displaced from their homes below the bridge and 100s of local businesses were devastated, causing direct and indirect damages of 422 million euros in the immediate wake of the collapse, the city of Genoa said in a statement.
Genoa Mayor Marco Bucci, who was named Commissioner for the Reconstruction of the Morandi Bridge by the government in October, said in a November 15 statement that the city will be getting "1.1 billion euros overall" in public funds, and that "I want to see the (new) bridge by Christmas 2019".
According to the joint Confindustria-Genoa Chamber of Commerce study out Wednesday, the absence of the bridge will cause estimated losses of 178 million euros a year in added value for the port and its logistical activities, plus 117 million in losses for the tourist sector and 54 million in losses to industrial activities.
In addition, with every year that goes by without a new bridge, Genoa residents will shell out 64 million euros annually in extra commuting costs, while the city will suffer a 27-million-euro reduction in consumer spending, Confindustria analysts said.
The report came as private highway operator Autostrade per l'Italia (Highways for Italy) CEO Giovanni Castellucci was questioned by Genoa prosecutors as part of a criminal case in which a total of 21 executives, managers, and engineers are under investigation connected with the deadly Morandi Bridge collapse.
In televised comments to reporters on his way out of the court, Castellucci said he will step down as Autostrade CEO as part of a "process that began before this tragedy", implying that the two are not related.
Meanwhile Bucci and his team are assessing bids for the Morandi Bridge reconstruction after a tender offer that expired on Nov. 26.
Among them is a bid by Italian infrastructure construction giant Salini Impregilo and Fincantieri shipbuilders based on a design by Italian arch-star Renzo Piano, and a competing bid from Italy's Cimolai, who specialize in metal bridges and other infrastructure, with a design from Spanish arch-star Santiago Calatrava.
Demolition of the remains of the bridge has been scheduled to commence on Dec. 15, Bucci has said.
