At the moment 23 thousand public works sites are open in Italy for an investment of 162 billion and practically all of them present a growing risk of paralysis or a strong slowdown, with serious damage to contractors, due to the extra costs caused earlier by the increase. in the prices of materials and now by the strong increases in energy prices. Current compensation mechanisms are slow and uncertain and those will expire at the end of the year, leaving the entire sector in an absolute vacuum of certainty.
It is Ance, the national association of builders, that estimates for the first time the extent of the public works in progress, the annual flow of expected payments of approximately 33 billion and the impact, calculated at five billion, caused by the extra costs directly on companies.
In fact, since 2021, it is the contracting companies that have anticipated the coverage of the additional costs to keep the construction sites going and this has made it possible to avoid massive closures.
Countermeasures almost always remain only on paper
The regulations passed by the government to offset the additional costs of 2021 and to adjust the price lists in 2022 have also contributed to the stability of the system. Reimbursement promises that in a few cases have resulted in the actual disbursement of the sums. The pressure on businesses is getting stronger. “These measures – denounces the association of manufacturers – remain largely on paper and have too long implementation times compared to the emergency.” The percentage of companies that have received payment of the advance payments is negligible. “The situation – says Ance – is becoming financially and economically unsustainable for companies that, to date, are not sure of seeing the expenses already incurred for some time actually reimbursed one day, in many cases more than a year and a half ago. “.
The three problems of the Ps
The problems on the table are numerous. For the state of progress of the works (Sal) released in the course of 2021, three problems are added: the slowness of the reimbursements that arrive, when they arrive, with 18 months or more of delay; the refusal, by many contracting authorities, to submit the request for the compensatory funds due to the complexity of the procedure and the required documentation; the very partial coverage of the compensations defined by the Mims surveys with respect to the real amount of the extra costs (on this point there is a dispute triggered by the appeals of Ance and other organizations against Mims and the first rulings of the Lazio TAR prove the companies right). In other words, the compensations arrive late, in many cases they do not arrive and in any case they cover only a part of the expenses incurred.