The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Italy’s Economics and Finance Ministry (MEF) have signed an agreement to finance Italian highway management agency Anas’s three-year plan to upgrade road network in the country.

The loan amount is the first tranche of total financing of €300m for Anas.

The investments, which will specifically cover a total of 5,800km, will be used on around 170 Anas-managed roads and motorways in all Italian regions.

Around 40% of the investments will be used for upgrading in southern Italy and the Italian islands.

"The investments, which will specifically cover a total of 5,800km, will be used on around 170 Anas-managed roads and motorways in all Italian regions."

Scope of work will include upgrading of safety barriers, restructuring of tunnels and construction of noise reduction systems.

The works are also designed to reduce the average rate of accidents on the roads concerned.

A statement in the release states that, as regards the financing arrangements, the operation is similar to that of 30 January between EIB, MEF and FS for works on the rail network, and will allow the Italian Republic to benefit from the favourable lending terms of the EIB.

As a result, the treasury will make substantial savings in terms of interest payments, while Anas will use the funds to implement the investment plan provided for under the project agreement entered into at the same time with the EIB.

In April, Anas president Pietro Cucci resigned following the collapse of a main motorway in Sicily.

A column that supports the highway linking Palermo in north-western Sicily and Catania in the east collapsed following a landslide, which attracted lot of criticism.

The affected stretch of motorway would be demolished and rebuilt while its closure reveals the lack of coordination between authorities that were meant to maintain the network.