And once again comes the announcement on the restart of work on the construction of the Monte Nieddu dam, in the Sarroch area : conceived 50 years ago, the infrastructure has seen numerous contracts assigned and then revoked, with the result of being one of the largest unfinished projects in Sardinia.
Now the Land Reclamation Consortium of Southern Sardinia is trying again: with a total investment of 163 million euros, it has awarded the contract for the executive design. This includes 89.5 million euros for the works and design, 40 million for sums available to the administration and approximately 33.5 million already spent in previous contracts between 1998 and 2019. The works are scheduled to start in autumn 2025: the completion of the work should arrive in December 2028.
"It is useless to deny that the times have been extended too much", explains Efisio Perra, president of the Cbsm, "but now, after all the obstacles, we hope that these will be respected. This is a fundamental work for the territory. Awaited for 50 years, it is very important also in the face of continuous drought events. Now we must also plan the works downstream. Therefore, the resources already allocated by the Region must be used for the planning, which must be started now, so that there is no paradox that once the last dam is finished, the water can no longer be made available".
The new dam, which will be approximately 80 metres high and have a storage capacity of 35.4 million cubic metres of water, will be the first in Italy to be built using roller-compacted concrete for the core and vibrated concrete for the upstream face. The dam on the Rio Monti Nieddu represents the main element of the water scheme planned for the south-western territory of Sardinia. A project that aims to satisfy various needs including the supply of drinking water for the Sarroch water treatment plant, the irrigation of the Pula plain and the protection of the valley through the capacity to regulate the water. The main dam will also be fed in the future by the waters of the adjacent Rio Is Canargius basin through the construction of a second dam, conveyed through an artificial tunnel interconnecting the reservoirs. This additional intervention will require approximately 25 million euros. The Consortium has planned additional works with separate contracts.
(Online Union)