Lampedusa, the government takes stock: "From emergency to model of good governance."

Minister Urso meets with Mayor Mannino: €45 million from the Cohesion Fund for strategic projects. The goal: to transform the island into a leading tourist destination.

The future of Lampedusa as a strategic tourist hub was the focus of a meeting held at the Town Hall with the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, Mayor Filippo Mannino, and representatives of the municipal administration. The discussion provided an opportunity to review the initiatives launched by the government over the past two years to support the island, which has long been affected by the effects of illegal immigration.

"Lampedusa, once a national and European problem, is becoming an example of good governance," declared Minister Urso, noting that since 2023—the year marked by the peak in landings—the situation has radically changed thanks to the Meloni government's management of immigration and the infrastructure projects launched.

At the center of the discussion was the progress of the measures envisaged by Legislative Decree 124 of 2023, which allocated €45 million from the Development and Cohesion Fund to an extraordinary plan of strategic works: road maintenance and construction, primary urbanization projects, new purification and wastewater management plants, fuel depots, public buildings, and energy retrofitting of existing structures. "These are projects that have been awaited for decades," Urso emphasized, "and will finally see the light of day thanks to the tender procedures that Invitalia will launch by 2026."

According to the minister, these interventions will pave the way for a true revitalization of the island: "Lampedusa could become a major tourist destination. We have believed in this goal since the beginning of the legislature, declaring the island a national strategic site to accelerate development measures."

The framework of government actions has been completed by the most recent provisions contained in the PA decree-law and the Economy decree-law: on the one hand, the redefinition of Invitalia's role as the central purchasing body for the implementation of the Plan; on the other, the possibility for the Municipality of Lampedusa and Linosa to strengthen its staffing until 2030, to better support the transformation phase.

– photo by the Mimit press office, from left the mayor of Lampedusa, Filippo Mannino, and the minister, Adolfo Urso –