Red tape holding up $8.5 billion of works, Italy's Autostrade says

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of an infrastructure group Atlantia is seen outside their headquarters, in Rome, Italy October 5, 2020. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

MILAN (Reuters) – The lengthy approval process for a new tariff system is holding up around 7 billion euros ($8.5 billion) of infrastructure works, the chief executive of Atlantia’s motorway unit Autostrade per l’Italia said on Thursday.

Autostrade reached an agreement with the Italian government over the tariff plan last year, but is still waiting for it to be finally signed off, CEO Roberto Tomasi said at the presentation of the company’s strategic plan.

The delay in approving the tariff plan, known as PEF, is also slowing negotiations between Atlantia and a consortium of investors aiming to buy Autostrade.

Negotiations to sell Autostrade are part of Atlantia’s effort to end a long-running dispute over the future of the motorway unit, which was triggered in 2018 after a deadly collapse of a motorway bridge operated by Autostrade.

Atlantia owns 88% of Autostrade with Germany’s Allianz, France’s EDF Invest, DIF Infrastructure and China’s Silk Road fund holding the remaining 12%.

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