The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has transmitted to the presidents of the Calabria and Sicily Regions, Roberto Occhiuto and Renato Schifani, the formal communication of understanding relating to the proposal for the appointment of lawyer Francesco Rizzo as president of the Port System Authority of the Strait, the body that manages the ports of Messina, Tremestieri, Milazzo, Villa San Giovanni, Reggio Calabria and Saline. Among the political positions, Rizzo was a city councilor in Messina elected in the list of the National Alliance and then ran for the European elections in 2014 and 2019 and in 2022 in the Chamber of Deputies deputies on the lists of Fratelli d'Italia.

In the past, Rizzo has repeatedly denounced the uselessness of the construction of the bridge over the Strait of Messina, a project dear to the to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, which has made it the emblem of its program to relaunch the national infrastructures.