Early Warning System

Regions

Europe and Central Asia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Italy

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Specific Location

Rovigo, Taurano, Vallesaccarda, Emilia- Romagna region, and others

Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.

Financial Institutions

European Investment Bank (EIB)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Dec 13, 2023

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Autostrade per l'Italia SpA

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Climate and Environment
Construction
Energy
Infrastructure
Transport

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 1,305.92 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 1200
Converted using 2023-12-13 exchange rate.

Loan Amount (USD)

$ 1,305.92 million

Project Cost (USD)

$ 3,178.82 million

Bank Documents

Environmental and Social Data Sheet (ESDS) - IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME ITALIAN HIGHWAY NETWORK [Original Source]

Media Documents

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EIB website

Updated in EWS Feb 28, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Feb 26, 2024

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the EIB, the investment programme concerns the modernisation and upgrade of the highway network operated and managed by ASPI, covering a total length of 2,855 km.
In particular, it includes the following works:
- Seismic upgrading and structural reinforcement of 40 bridges and viaducts (in line with the EU and national standards post Morandi bridge collapse), including the demolition/reconstruction, reinforcement of deck and substructure as well as renewal of crash barriers on bridges and viaducts in line with the EU Standard EN 1317;
- Replacement of crash safety and noise barriers, including more than 66,700 linear metres of safety barriers and the installation of more than 85,000 linear metres of new noise barriers;
- Alignment of 87 existing tunnel tubes in terms of structural reinforcement and renewal interventions;
- Smart and Intelligent Roads;
- Modernisation of ASPI's installation, including works to reduce CO2 emissions (energy-efficiency renovation of buildings, replacement of lighting with LED) and upgrade of Intelligent Transport Systems to optimise traffic flow and safety;
- Modernisation of ASPI's IT infrastructure, including the installation of 871 linear kilometres of fiber optic;
- Installation of 98 e-vehicle charging stations across ASPI's highway network including at least 2 ultra-fast DC charging units of 300 kW.

The main objectives are to safeguard and upgrade the assets, to improve road safety, to reduce pollution, notably noise as well as develop ITS services and electric recharging stations.
The project is not expected to lead to any traffic capacity increase. Moreover, it is expected that no material interventions will occur beyond the existing right of way.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

As stated by the EIB, some of the Project components under the category of works “rehabilitation of bridges and viaducts” and “installation of noise barriers” were subject to appropriate assessments (Valutazione di Incidenza – VincA) in accordance with article 6.3 of the Habitats directive 92/43/EEC and with the Italian national guidelines on appropriate assessment (2019).

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Investment Bank (EIB)

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EIB, Autostrade per l’Italia group is one of the largest toll motorway concession holders in Europe and the world, managing a network of around 3 000 km of roads. ASPI operates as an integrated mobility provider across Italy, including via its subsidiaries: Amplia (construction), Movyon (tech solutions), Tecne (engineering), and Free To X and Elgea (network electrification and renewable energy generation). The group’s more than 9 000 employees are working to meet the goals of its industrial plan for ever safer and more sustainable mobility.

Part of the investments included in the project has been/shall be directly awarded to ASPI's subsidiary companies without public procurement.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	Autostrade per l'Italia S.p.A.	Client	Infrastructure

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

No project contacts provided at the time of disclosure.

Client - Autostrade per l'Italia S.p.A.:

Website: https://www.autostrade.it/it/home

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/registers/request-form/request-form-default.htm

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EIB

The EIB Complaints Mechanism is designed to facilitate and handle complaints against the EIB by individuals, organizations or corporations affected by EIB activities. When exercising the right to lodge a complaint against the EIB, any member of the public has access to a two-tier procedure, one internal - the Complaints Mechanism Office - and one external - the European Ombudsman. A complaint can be lodged via a written communication addressed to the Secretary General of the EIB, via email to the dedicated email address: complaints@eib.org, by completing the online complaint form available at the following address: http://www.eib.org/complaints/form via fax or delivered directly to the EIB Complaints Mechanism Division, any EIB local representation office or any EIB staff. For further details, check: http://www.eib.org/attachments/strategies/complaints_mechanism_policy_en.pdf

When dissatisfied with a complaint to the EIB Complaints Mechanism, citizens can then turn towards the European Ombudsman. A memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the EIB and the European Ombudsman establishes that citizens (even outside of the EU if the Ombudsman finds their complaint justified) can turn towards the Ombudsman on issues related to 'maladministration' by the EIB. Note that before going to the Ombudsman, an attempt must be made to resolve the case by contacting the EIB. In addition, the complaint must be made within two years of the date when the facts on which your complaint is based became known to you. You can write to the Ombudsman in any of the languages of the European Union. Additional details, including filing requirements and complaint forms, are available at: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/atyourservice/interactiveguide.faces