TRIESTE – The industrial associations of Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige are calling for acceleration on the construction of the Brenner Base Tunnel and completion of the Valdastico Nord, considered fundamental works for business competitiveness and for strengthening links between Italy and Europe.
The issue was at the centre of the conference “Infrastructure to support local areas. Development routes north and south of the Brenner”, organised in recent days in Trento by Confindustria Trentino-Alto Adige. The discussion produced a shared position: infrastructure represents a decisive factor for economic growth and for the quality of mobility for people and goods. For this reason, according to the business community, it is necessary to make the best possible use of existing networks, develop new connections and focus on an integrated system combining road, rail and intermodal transport.
The priorities indicated by businesses include the completion of the Brenner Base Tunnel and its related rail access routes, the strengthening of the Brenner motorway, the removal of restrictions on heavy goods traffic introduced by Tyrol and the construction of new links capable of easing pressure on existing infrastructure.
For Alexander Rieper, president of Confindustria Alto Adige, the Brenner corridor must be considered a major European infrastructure, capable of connecting territories from Veneto to Bavaria and supporting both freight and passenger traffic. Hence the need for shared solutions among the different countries concerned. Leopoldo Destro, vice-president of Confindustria with responsibility for transport, logistics and tourism, took the same line, arguing that management of Alpine crossings based exclusively on national interests risks penalising the competitiveness of European businesses, increasing costs and uncertainty along logistics chains.
The president of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Maurizio Fugatti, highlighted the strategic value of investments in the Brenner motorway and in the shift of freight from road to rail thanks to the BBT. Fugatti also reiterated the importance of new road infrastructure such as the Valdastico to support the economic development of the territories crossed by the route.
The vice-president of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Daniel Alfreider, also underlined the central role of the Brenner Base Tunnel in transforming the Alpine transport system, while recalling that road transport will continue to play an essential role and will have to be made more sustainable through decarbonisation and digitalisation.
According to Alberto Baban, president of Fondazione Nord Est, the Brenner must become a genuinely shared infrastructure between Italy, Austria and Germany, serving European industry, logistics and the energy transition. Raffaele Boscaini, president of Confindustria Veneto, finally identified three priorities for the North-East production system: strengthening cooperation between neighbouring states, concretely developing intermodality and completing two works considered decisive, the Brenner Base Tunnel and the Valdastico Nord.
