Augusta wastewater treatment plant, the Catania Administrative Court rejects the appeal of Aretusacque and Acea

The appeal is inadmissible proposed by Aretusacque and Acea Siracusa. This was established by a ruling from the fourth section of the Tar of Catania that had to decide on the request from the two companies to annul the tender of October 23 last year, with which Sogesid, as contractor on behalf of the sole extraordinary commissioner for the implementation of interventions for collection, sewage, and treatment of urban wastewater, announced the open tender for “the awarding of the contract for works aimed at addressing the critical issues of the sewage and treatment system of the municipality of Augusta.”

The appeal had been filed against Sogesid, the presidency of the Council of Ministers, and the sole extraordinary commissioner, as well as against the municipality of Augusta. Aretusacque, which includes nineteen municipalities of the province, argued that the works subject to the tender had, in fact, already been awarded by the Ati of Siracusa to Aretusacque and Acea Siracusa, as part of the “instrumental works for the management of the service, indicated in the Area Plan,” including the “interventions aimed at overcoming the critical issues of the sewage and treatment system of the Municipality of Augusta,” planned by the commissioner and estimated at a total of 55 million 146 thousand euros.

For the appellants, “the tender would have also been adopted in violation of the decree law that recognized the sole extraordinary commissioner as the implementing subject of the interventions in the treatment sector, complaining about the announcement of a tender for the award to a third party of works already awarded to them by the Ati of Siracusa.”

While confirming that the tender was legitimately adopted by Sogesid, the Tar clarifies that “among the instrumental works for the management of the service, indicated in the Area Plan (…) those in the municipality of Augusta could not be considered included.”

The commissioner Fabio Fatuzzo expresses satisfaction for the Tar's decision, which “confirms the correctness of the administrative action taken and allows us to move forward with determination towards the realization of an essential intervention for environmental protection, the improvement of service quality, and the overcoming of historical critical issues affecting the Megara area.”

Satisfaction is also expressed by the mayor of Augusta, Giuseppe Di Mare.