Domenico De Rosa, CEO of the SMET Group and a logistics entrepreneur, is a staunch supporter of building the Messina Strait Bridge. In an interview, De Rosa lays out his vision for the project in no uncertain terms, criticizing the failure to construct an infrastructure he considers essential for the economic future of Southern Italy and the country as a whole.

“The Bridge over the Strait is not just infrastructure, but an opportunity we can no longer afford to ignore,” De Rosa begins. “Every year, 800,000 heavy vehicles cross the Strait, with direct ferry costs exceeding 200 million euros. Added to this are the inefficiencies linked to downtime, which drive the annual cost well over one billion euros. If we add to this the logistical surcharge that Sicily pays compared to the rest of the country—estimated at around 10%—it is clear that this situation is unsustainable.” He adds: “In Italy, we are often masters at turning what is obvious into an endless ideological debate. The Strait Bridge, more than just infrastructure, has become a national symbol of what we never manage to bring to fruition, even though we have known its transformative potential for decades.”

Il Cavaliere continues, highlighting the concrete problems arising from the lack of a stable connection between Sicily and the mainland: “Competitiveness is not built on proclamations, but on the ability to move goods and people quickly, reliably, and at affordable costs. The absence of a bridge between Sicily and Calabria turns the island into an enclave, cut off from major European logistics flows. The marginal role of rail transport, with only two or three freight trains a day, effectively excludes Sicily from the Scandinavian-Mediterranean TEN-T corridor, which is one of Europe’s strategic backbone routes.”

Regarding the numerous objections that continue to emerge regarding the project’s construction, Cavaliere De Rosa is unequivocal: “Even today, we hear talk of ‘different priorities’ or ‘roads that need fixing first,’ as if it were an excuse for inaction. This is a mistake. The Bridge does not replace anything, but it enables everything. Its construction would not only resolve issues related to maritime traffic but would also drive the completion of ancillary infrastructure—roads, rail hubs, interconnections—that currently remain in the limbo of the planning phase.”

Regarding the cost of the project, which has often been the subject of debate, De Rosa points out: “The bridge has an estimated cost of approximately 13.5 billion euros, spread over ten years. But the real question we must ask ourselves is: how much does it cost us not to have it? Every year, we lose an amount equivalent to that figure due to inefficiencies and logistics costs.”

The entrepreneur does not hide his frustration at the political inability to complete the project, despite its obvious potential: “We are a G7 country, with a world-class engineering industry. We build bridges and tunnels in contexts far more complex than that of the Strait. There is no doubt that we are capable of doing it. Yet, on this great, unique, and unrepeatable project, we remain stagnant, fearful, and divided.”

For Cavaliere De Rosa, the issue of the Strait Bridge is not merely a local matter but concerns the entire country: “The South needs transformative infrastructure, not small stopgap measures. Sicily needs to fully integrate into the European logistics system, not remain isolated. It is not a question of identity, but of efficiency. It is not ideology; it is industrial logic.”

Finally, Cavaliere De Rosa concludes with an appeal to politicians and the ruling class: “Every day that passes without the Bridge is a missed opportunity for the country’s economy. The bridge is engineering applied to the future. Not building it today is a choice, and that choice comes at a price we are already paying dearly.”