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Italy appoints new transport and infrastructure minister

Xinhua, April 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Graziano Delrio, a loyalist of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, was appointed as the new Italian transport and infrastructure minister on Thursday following the resignation of his predecessor amids a graft scandal.

Delrio, cabinet undersecretary of the Renzi government and former minister for regional affairs, was sworn in by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, according to a statement published on the presidential website late in the day.

"We must not believe that infrastructures are important only when they are huge projects ... there are infrastructures that may connect small places but have a strong impact on the life of citizens," Delrio was quoted as saying by local media.

The new minister is a 54-year-old medical doctor who used to be mayor of his hometown Reggio Emilia in central Italy.

Married and with nine children, he is widely seen as the right-hand man of Renzi, who when took over in February 2014 nominated him as cabinet undersecretary, a post with significant authority in Italy.

Thursday's appointment followed the resignation last month of Maurizio Lupi after he came under pressure, though was not investigated, over his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal regarding public contracts.

Prosecutors said contracts for the upcoming world exposition in Milan as well as various highways and railways segments in Italy were targeted by the illegal system that led to the arrest of four people, including a former top official at the infrastructure ministry, and the investigation of dozens.

After Lupi, a member of the New Center Right (NCD) party of which the head is Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, stepped down, Renzi took over as the interim infrastructure and transport minister until Thursday. Endit