Renewed objections ‘won’t stop Sicily cable’

The Government is confident that it will get the permits it needs to complete the interconnector project in spite of fresh opposition on the Sicilian side. “We are not concerned that the opposition could in any way derail the project because we have been assured that the permit will go through the whole process. “Besides, there are no severe objections and the regional government has already approved it,” Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said yesterday. With this in mind, he said that the permits should be in hand by the end of February, at the latest. He was reacting to news that the Movimento Territorio Ragusa, an environmental group associated with the Ragusa province – where the interconnector cable will be connected on the Sicilian side – announced it planned to oppose the project fiercely. The group said it “would be at the frontline against the project for environmental reasons” arguing that the interconnector, particularly an onshore terminal, would damage the area near Marina di Ragusa and the mouth of the River Irminio. But Mr Fenech said that the interconnector infrastructure on the Sicily side would be underground and that the zone earmarked was located in...