Webuild CEO Pietro Salini on Rai Radio 1: Italy must anticipate recovery funds for infrastructure investments to create jobs for young people

MILAN, June 17, 2021 - 'In the PNRR (Italy's National Plan of Recovery and Resilience), there are about 23 billion (euros) worth of investments for railway infrastructure. Then there are more than 13 billion in a supplementary fund. These are big sums for projects to be done in six years. In a situation like this one, it is important that we inject liquidity into the system and do it quickly. We need to find a way to finance as soon as possible this effort to create jobs and bring forward the positive impact that the European programme will have on growth and employment without waiting for the established timetable for the disbursement of funds under the PNRR. Today, our real priority is to build trust, and with this trust create jobs. Because every additional day of work is a ray of hope for many families and businesses,' said Pietro Salini, Chief Executive of Webuild, during an interview on the Sportello Italia programme of state broadcaster Rai Radio 1.

As for the management of the PNRR's funds, Salini said it would be best to apply a model that has 'big contracts awarded to leaders in the field who know how to coordinate small businesses and have them work together on the construction of large projects. It would be better than having the state manage thousands of small operations. The challenge, in a country with a slow bureaucracy, is to be able to transform the plan into something concrete, real work for small- and medium-sized businesses and salaries for people. We all have to make a big effort because this means work also for young people with investments in universities and vocational training.'

Salini also spoke of the mega contract worth $16 billion that was recently signed by the Group to build a high-speed railway between Dallas and Houston. He said it would benefit the Italian sector in terms of business and employment as well as the supply chain that has been working alongside Webuild under the spirit of Progetto Italia, the industrial operation launched in 2019. 'This contract means growth. It means exporting to the United States the expertise acquired by our Group along with the entire supply chain and Ferrovie dello Stato in the development of high-speed rail. It also gives a boost to the development of new Italian technologies. It means giving work to young people and offering an opportunity to the 7,000 businesses that have already worked with us on major projects in Italy. Large Italian companies of a big enough size can therefore take the lead, bringing this enormous heritage of know-how held by small- and medium-sized businesses in Italy into mega projects like the one in Texas. It is a model that is proving to be competitive and successful. We are still growing. The United States represents 35% of our construction order backlog at a time in which the country offers so many opportunities. And this is coming at a time when President Biden is proposing an infrastructure investment programme to drive growth and create employment in the post-COVID recovery,' he said.