The new government will go ahead with plans to build a high-speed rail link from northern Italy to France but its contested route could be modified, Infrastructure Minister Antonio Di Pietro said on Wednesday.
"We are committed to moving ahead with this project. The route can be discussed but not the project itself," he said.
Di Pietro stressed that the government would listen to local residents and environmentalists who are fighting a part of the project which involves building a 53-kilometre tunnel through the Susa Valley in the Western Italian Alps.
"We cannot stop an infrastructure work which is essential to the country but neither can we ignore the legitimate concerns of local residents. "The two things are not impossible to reconcile, common ground can be found," said Di Pietro, who heads the small Italy of Values party.
The minister made his comments after talks here with Loyola de Palacio, the European Commission's coordinator for the project to build a link from the northern Italian city of Turin to the French city of Lyon. De Palacio told reporters that "this was an important meeting which clarified things. We wanted to know whether the project was a priority for the new government. Now there are no doubts - the will to proceed is there".
"The change of government does not mean a change of strategy," added the former European transport commissioner, who is due to meet Premier Romano Prodi later on Wednesday. Repeated protests have been held against the Susa Valley tunnel plan, some of which turned violent last December with clashes between demonstrators and the police.
The protesters, who are mainly Susa Valley residents,say the link will create an environmental disaster anddestroy the area's natural beauty. They argue that the tunnel will take at least ten yearsto complete and that the money would be better spent on boosting existing transport infrastructure in the region.
They also say they fear for their health given that the mountains to be drilled through are suspected to contain both uranium and asbestos. Supporters of the project, including the EC, say the line will actually reduce pollution by cutting the amount of
goods transported by road. They highlight the economic benefits of the link, which will form part of a pan-European transport system connecting Western and Eastern Europe with a super-modern freight line stretching from Kiev in Ukraine to Barcelona in Spain.
Politicians on both sides of the political divide say it is vital that Italy remain part of this rail system. Champions of the project also say that new technology will be able to deal safely and effectively with any health risks caused by the possible presence of asbestos or uranium. The EC recently produced a report compiled by five experts who spent several months researching the environmental and health implications of the tunnel plan.
The experts concluded that it would not have a damaging impact on the health of residents or the local environment.
However, the project does not have the backing of all the political groups in Prodi's nine-party centre-left coalition.
The Communist Refoundation Party, the alliance's third-biggest party, and the small Green party in particular are opposed to the tunnel and have joined the protests. Given his weak parliamentary majority, Prodi would require the full support of his coalition to get the project approved.
