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$5.2b project to save Venice to proceed
A $5.2 billion project to build flood barriers to save Venice from its high tides will go forward, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday. The disputed project "is the solution to a problem that has always existed," Berlusconi said at the end of a meeting with members of his Cabinet and officials from the region surrounding Venice. "Venice is an important pearl for the Venetians ... for Europe and for the world," the premier added. Some environmentalists have protested plans, originally approved by the government in 2003, to build a flood barrier to ease the effect of high tides that routinely deluge Venice's streets. Dubbed "Moses," after the Biblical figure who parted the Red Sea, the project calls for hinged barriers to be built in the seabed just off Venice that could be raised when high tides threaten the city. Berlusconi said the project would be completed by 2011. Berlusconi said the upcoming budget would include funding to help generate "positive choices for Venice and other municipalities near the Laguna." Some environmentalists say the project will turn Venice into a stagnant pond, while supporters say it is necessary to help prevent the sinking city from being inundated even further.
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