“Mille Infrastrutture – Rete d’imprese”, a new entity for infrastructure monitoring and safety

An agreement was signed to set up "Mille Infrastrutture - Rete d'Imprese", the first and largest network of companies in Italy, created for the static and dynamic monitoring of infrastructures, with a focus on bridges, viaducts and tunnels.

The Network is a concrete response to the missions and priorities covered by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and the related Supplementary Fund. A new legal entity is born, thanks to the valuable legal support of Nctm, to give continuity of action to the "Mille Infrastrutture" project, already a candidate in August 2020 under the "Safe Streets" measure, with an initial value of over 450 million Euros

The project is a driving force for the economic development and safety of the country due to its particular innovation and utility potential.

The "Mille Infrastrutture" Network was created on the initiative of the Technology Districts of Basilicata, Liguria, Piedmont and Campania, and involves large, medium and small businesses, together with Research Centres and Universities, including the Italian Institute of Technology and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, for a total of over eighty public and private players: a network of complementary skills that sees major players in the field of technological innovation as protagonists. The presence of Leonardo – the main Italian industrial company and one of the top global players in the Aerospace, Defence and Security sector – as a strategic node gives the network a univocal and integrated vision and encourages technology transfer along the entire production chain, from north to south.

“The Network will be a vector for development and innovation across the entire peninsula and will be particularly focused on the revitalisation of the South, a priority objective of the NRRP, to strengthen cohesion and promote economic growth. A solid technological axis for infrastructure monitoring and risk prevention will be created: a unicum for the  "Sistema Paese" in terms of innovative scope, effectiveness and reliability," said Antonio Colangelo, President of TeRN consortium in Basilicata and newly elected President of the Network, as well as promoter of the agreement together with Remo Pertica, President of SIIT Ligurian Technological District.

The main objective of the cooperation is indeed the creation of a cutting-edge technological platform, capable of managing the data acquired through innovative multi-sensory and satellite systems and applying artificial intelligence solutions for the monitoring of all parameters that ensure the control of the stability and safety of the country's infrastructure. The platform may be subsequently used to monitor further works and provide operators and safety authorities with an effective alert and maintenance tool.

The strength of the Network is its impartiality and absolute independence in the provision of the relevant service, ensuring reliability and transparency of the data and information provided to support stakeholders’ decisions. The particular organisational model on which the "Mille Infrastrutture" project is based represents best practice that can be replicated at European level, meeting the objectives of protecting  citizens and safeguarding infrastructure heritage.