A report by Il Sole 24 Ore on March 27, 2024, detailed the contents of Anac's Resolution No. 142 dated March 20, 2024, which reiterates several findings related to the contract for the new Genoa outer dam. Specifically, the Authority confirmed seven critical issues previously raised with the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority. The fifty-page document could now be forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Auditors for potential investigations and might even reach the European Commission since the project is funded with funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
The first issue concerns the lack of a tender procedure, justified by the inclusion of the work in the Genoa Decree. Anac states that such inclusion is illegitimate, as the Decree explicitly pertains to works to be constructed due to the collapse of the Morandi Bridge, particularly the restoration of road viability. Therefore, the exemption from the tender process cannot apply to the dam, which is unrelated to the collapsed viaduct.
The contract awarded to the consortium led by Webuild was also excluded from the Public Contracts Code, applying a negotiated procedure without announcement because it was included among the Pnrr works. However, such an exemption is only valid in cases of particular urgency, a circumstance Anac did not find in the documentation received. Moreover, the Authority adds, the work had been planned since 2010. Other findings relate to the complex awarding procedure, which saw a notice without participants despite initial interest from two companies, and consequently, the decision not to hold the tender.
Anac also criticizes the failure to adjust prices and the modification of contractual conditions when the Port Authority awarded the contract to the consortium. According to the Authority, the contracting station "irregularly" met the competitors' requests on significant aspects of the contract, including the possibility of making changes for potential "geological uncertainties". The Superior Council of Public Works had already intervened on this point.
Another critical issue is the appointment of the panel of experts, which was later replaced because some members had shown incompatibility. The replacement occurred after the opening of the envelopes containing the technical and economic offers, which, according to Anac, "contrasts with the principles of transparency, equal treatment, and publicity of public tenders." The situation also highlights a conflict of interest involving engineer Marco Rettighieri. He was initially responsible for implementing the extraordinary program that includes the dam and later became the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Webuild Italia, a company of the Webuild Group leading the consortium awarded the contract.
