• 02 May 2018

On 11 April ARERA published a report identifying the projects necessary for the water sector, based on the definition of the “aqueducts” section of the National Plan as set forth in Article 1(516) of Italian Law no. 205/2017.

 

In this document the Authority defines the priority levels of the projects and classifies them with their costs. We are speaking of 40 level-1 and 9 level-2 projects that the Authority will illustrate in depth during its participation at Accadueo, where it will describe the projects necessary for the water sector and illustrate the latest regulatory changes.

 

As part of the process launched with resolution 25/2018/R/IDR, the Authority proposed to develop a list of necessary, urgent projects to achieve the priority objectives, based in part on examination of the documents and information sent to the Authority for the biannual rates review.

 

The report is based on Article 1(516) of Law 205/2017 (law on "State budget for FY 2018 and multi-annual budgets for 2018-2020"), which provides "planning and implementing the projects necessary to mitigate the damage caused by drought and promote the revamping and adaptation of the water infrastructure" through a Prime Minister’s Decree that calls for a "National Plan for projects in the water sector", consisting of two sections: "aqueducts" and "reservoirs".

 

In its report, besides summarizing the principal activities completed in this area, the Authority intends to provide an initial list of projects selected by the local authorities (Government Entities) as necessary and urgent to achieve the priority objectives for reaching adequate levels of technical quality; the recovery and expansion of the retention and transport of water, with reference also to reservoir capacity; and the diffusion of instruments for saving water in agricultural, industrial and civil uses.

 

Considering the need to proceed rapidly with further and successive parts, the first screening on projects and resources focused on initiatives that are at the final, and where possible executive, design stage. The Authority also notes the strategic importance of some projects that are still at the feasibility stage and, from other standpoints, the failure to develop final and executive designs even for projects that, though deemed highly urgent and high-priority, are still without sufficient funding. These are cases that, because of their size and need for authorizations, could not be immediately included in the first part.