国际英语资讯:News Analysis: Fallout from Italys tragic bridge collapse jitters investors_时事

国际英语资讯:News Analysis: Fallout from Italys tragic bridge collapse jitters investors

Conte, Toninelli, and Di Maio all said that the government should step in. But Angela Bergantino, president of the Italian Scientific Association of Transport Economics, said it remains unclear whether that will really happen.

"I think the statements are political or emotional," Bergantino said in an interview. "I don't believe anyone is making technical assessments yet."

Italy privatized its national road network starting in the 1990s, in part to improve efficiency and attract fresh investment.

Matteo Salvini, the interior minister of Italy, said Wednesday that Italy's Civil Protection Agency estimated it would cost at least 40 billion euros (46 billion U.S. dollars) to maintain the country's infrastructure and safeguard it against heavy use as well as natural disasters like floods, landslides, and earthquakes.

Italy cannot possibly spend that amount on infrastructure -- the figure is the equivalent to more than a tenth of the government's annual budget this year -- but Salvini said he wants to use that argument to ask the European Union to give the country more flexibility for its 2019 budget under budget deficit rules.

Financial analysts said fears that Italy could add to debt figures, which was already the second highest in the European Union in terms of a percentage of gross domestic product, have made some investors worry that the country might have a hard time paying off its debt. Those fears have also pushed bond yields higher, increasing the amount the government has to pay to borrow money.