WRITTEN QUESTION E-0017/96 by Carlo Ripa di Meana (V) and Gianni Tamino (V) to the Commission (25 January 1996)

Subject: Intermodal centre in Olbia (Sardinia)

- In accordance with Decision 89/638 of 31 October 1989 ((OJ L 370, 19.12.1989, p. 35 )), the EU has granted the Region of Sardinia MECU 14.5 for the development of intermodal transport, and the Region of Sardinia has made the same amount available under Italian Law 61/86 (see measure 1.2 of the Operational Programme for the Region of Sardinia 1990-1993);

- on 18 October 1991, the Transport Department of the Regional Council of Sardinia awarded the company Porto Terminal Mediterraneao (PTM) the contract for the design, operation and management of the intermodal centres in the north of Sardinia (Olbia, Porto Torres and Chilivani) at an initial cost of Lit 45.750 million;

- on 14 September 1995, the Region of Sardinia paid PTM Lit 6.741 million for studies and plans which are incomplete and for sections of work which are unfinished (compared to work awarded under contract for Lit 24.766 million): the plans do not include connections with the respective railway lines whilst the warehouses to be built during the first stage of work are not accessible to the railways; furthermore, no EIA has not been carried out in accordance with Directive 85/337/EEC;

- with regard to the Olbia intermodal centre, the instructions laid down in the Regional Transport Plan and by the Olbia Industrialization Unit Consortium requiring the centre to be developed on the same site as the car-port, close to the industrial port under construction, have been disregarded; Italian State Railways have grave misgivings particularly with regard to the economic viability of the planned site which is located more than 10 km from the present railway station, the town, the industrial zone and the port;

If the above observations are confirmed, is the Commission still prepared to co-finance work which is divided up into unfinished sections and awarded under the outdated system of contracts with no invitation to tender, and which fails to comply with current planning legislation?

Does the Commission not consider it necessary to ensure that the contractors concerned respect the current European legislation on contracts, the environment and the strategic plans put forward by the EU in favour of cabotage and three-way intermodal transport (road-rail-water)?

Supplementary answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (9 April 1996)

On the basis of the information provided by the regional authorities, the Commission can give the following clarifications.

On 28 September 1993 the Regional Technical Committee of Public Works approved the general project for the intermodal centre in Olbia, including connection of the railway lines, an environmental impact assessment and a cost-benefit analysis. At the same time, for budgetary reasons, the Committee approved the execution of the first section of the project. Regional Decree No 1312 of 24 November 1993 approved the deliberations of the Technical Committee.

On the basis of Article 8 of Regional Law 24/87, which was in force at the time and which did not oblige the region to follow the tendering procedure, Sardinia awarded a contract on 21 November 1991 to the public limited company 'Porto Terminal Mediterraneo' licensing it to manage the intermodal centre in Olbia. Nonetheless, it should be noted that for the execution of the works the contractor must follow current regional and national laws governing public contracts, which are based on the relevant Community legislation.

Sardinia's regional development and regional transport plans provide for the construction of the intermodal centre in Olbia. The decision to locate the centre at Olbia-Enas was taken with the agreement of the region, the agency responsible for railways and the commune of Olbia, which gave its final approval for the project on 12 January 1996.

In the light of the above, the Commission is prepared to cofinance the project in question.