31st MARCH 2005: CUTTING OF THE RIBBON FOR THE NEW MILAN FAIR COMPLEX

The President of the Council Silvio Berlusconi and the President of the Lombardy Region Roberto Formigoni at the opening ceremony of the New Milan Fair Complex.

Rho-Pero, 31st March 2005 – Today, in line with the schedule for laying of the first brick on site, which came about on 6th October 2002, the New Milan Fair Complex was opened. The ceremony began with the President of the Council Silvio Berlusconi’s walk along the promenade below the large sail. During his walk, the President of the Council met and said hello to the representatives of everybody that took part in the creation of this large project. Cutting of the ribbon took place at 11.08 and was followed by intervention of the individuals present.

Ministers of the Ministries of Infrastructures and Transport, Health, Innovation and Reforms Pietro Lunardi, Girolamo Sirchia, Lucio Stanca and Roberto Calderoli attended; the president of the Lombardy Region, Roberto Formigoni, the president of the Province Filippo Penati, the Mayors of the Cities of Milan, Pero and Rho, Gabriele Albertini, Augustangela Fioroni and Pessina. Luigi Roth, president of Fondazione Fiera Milano, led the events.

Luigi Roth, president of Fondazione Fiera Milano declared: “The New Fair Complex of Rho-Pero has made Milan even larger. It is the result of team work and it has provided us with an extraordinary opportunity: the possibility to combine functionality and beauty. I still remember the emotion when the first brick was laid, but also the weight of responsibilities of the commitment that we undertook at that time, to complete the New Fair complex by March 2005. And this is the case, thanks to the institutions that have shared the objectives and responsibilities of this project with us. It has been a successful example of collaboration between the public and private individuals, between institutions and companies. Fiera Milano is today one of the largest fair systems in the world and the New Fair Complex is an important launching platform for the economy. Its economic effects on the territory, when the Fair Complex will be operative, is estimated in approximately 4.3 billion Euro per year by research requested by Fondazione Fiera Milano and carried out by CERTeT and the Bocconi University with the creation of approximately 43,000 jobs, the majority of which are new.

Furthermore, Luigi Roth read a letter received from the President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi who expressed his warm praise for the execution of this new reality. These impressive buildings, writes Ciampi, open a new large frontier to the world for the economy of Milan, of the Lombardy region and of Italy. The New Fair Complex is real proof of the creative and technological vitality of our Country.

“Fiera Milano will not only be a market place but also a meeting area between people and the exchange of cultures” stated Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi before giving the New Fair Complex his solemn blessing. “People from all over the world will come here and important obligations for cohabitation and peace will be created”. The two Mayors of the cities of Rho and Pero then went on stage.

“We are strong, clever, proud”, stated Paola Pessina, Mayor of Rho.
Those involved in the project, and they know very well who they are. The Fair is opened today. And a vital function of Milan is extended towards our territory. People from Lombardy are always the first but we must remember that this Fair provides hope and this, now, is the largest responsibility. We have authorised the world to place their trust in us. From today, the two territories will have the possibility of communicating within a metropolis rather than a megalopolis, considered as a life-generating fertile prototypical.

We have always been aware of the fact that this project would have improved the quality of life. Augustangela Fioroni, the Mayor of Pero continues: The role of the cities of Pero and Rho, with the consent of its inhabitants, has been important for us to speak out. We will check to make sure that everything is correctly completed, but the structure exists. In an area marked by the large refinery, the New Fair Complex has created a new language that speaks about redevelopment and hope.

“This creation shows how it is possible to abandon the localisms of those that believe that the initiatives of a Country end within a restricted environment. The New Milan Fair Complex, built in a strategic area, is the result of a new and far-seeing mentality.” This is what the Minister of Infrastructures Pietro Lunardi said. “Up until a few years ago this was purely a programmatic desire, now we are opening a structure that will become a procedure model.”

The President of the Province of Milan Filippo Penati continued: “Work here is a tangible value. The creation of the new Fair in such a short period of time is an example for all of us and will be the stimulation required to draw us closer to the creation of a metropolitan city and the financial independence of the territories”.

The Mayor of Milan Gabriele Albertini recalled the outset of the Fair, when the Samples Fair was the showcase of the economic miracle of Italy that was still disposing of the remains of the war. He continued “The New Fair Complex is the expression of a constructive pragmatism that somebody calls reformism but, if we want to be intellectual, may also be referred to as the culture of doing”.

An example of beauty and the fulfilment of a promise. These are the two knots around the speech made by the president of the Lombardy Region Roberto Formigoni. Formigoni concluded “There is huge satisfaction because we are providing all of Italy with a fundamental infrastructure to assist our companies: a modern and large Fair, capable of competing with international competition”.

The President of the Council Silvio Berlusconi concluded in the following way: “Our omen is that all projects may be completed in a short period of time as in the case of the New Milan Fair Complex. Current techniques allow for this to occur and we must work towards making sure that it happens for the interests of our Country. I am moved and proud of this extraordinary structure. The New Milan Fair Complex proves that if we work with optimism and trust we can achieve important goals like this.

” The ceremony ended with a parade by the Band of the Carabinieri.

For further information:
Fondazione Fiera Milano
External Affairs and Communication
Roberto De Giorgis – Monica Novelli
Claudia Bellante
02.49977724/7185/7260/6788
u.stampa@fondazionefieramilano.it
www.fondazionefieramilano.it
www.nuovosistemafieramilano.it