Italy seeks to move G-8 summit to quake-hit city

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday he wants to move this summer's Group of Eight summit to earthquake-stricken L'Aquila from Sardinia to both save money and provide the region with an economic boost.

Berlusconi told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting in L'Aquila that the costs of holding the July 8-10 summit in the Sardinian island of La Maddalena would have been euro220 million ($285 million) alone — money better spent on reconstruction efforts in Italy's central Abruzzo region.

He said there were already sufficient hotels for delegations, conference venues and areas for journalists in the region.

News agencies said the change of venue was conditional on approval by the other participating countries.

The April 6 quake killed 295 people, drove some 50,000 from their homes, and toppled or heavily damaged thousands of buildings in and around the mountain city of L'Aquila.

Italian news reports had previously suggested that the government was having trouble organizing the summit on La Maddalena and was facing difficulties in finding the ships that were supposed to host delegations and journalists.

The island, selected by Berlusconi's predecessor Romano Prodi, hosted a U.S. Navy support base that was closed last year and was undergoing extensive construction to prepare the summit venues.

Berlusconi said that demonstrators might think twice before marching on the quake-devastated region, as opposed to the deluxe seaside Sardinian setting originally planned.

L'Aquila is a one-hour drive from Rome, and Berlusconi said the summit could be hosted in the same venue as Thursday's Cabinet meeting, a military school that has been turned into the headquarters for the rescue and recovery operation.

The sprawling complex, complete with barracks and a heliport, also hosted a mass funeral for some 200 victims of the quake on its broad parade grounds.

Berlusconi is not new to moving important events to problematic areas in a show of support. When a garbage collection crisis hit Naples, the government held several Cabinet meetings in the southern city as it took steps to clean up tons of rubbish piling up on the streets.

During Thursday's Cabinet meeting, the government approved euro8 billion ($10.36 billion) in funding to rebuild the area hit by the quake, Berlusconi said.

The premier said the plan would be funded without levying new taxes. He said an initial euro700 million was earmarked for temporary housing to be built before winter for the thousands left homeless.

Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti said the homeless would receive direct government contributions to repair or rebuild their homes. The plan would be financed by pre-existing Italian and EU funds as well as lotteries and betting games, he said.

Some initial government estimates had placed the reconstruction bill at euro12 billion ($15.54 billion), but Tremonti cautioned Thursday the total costs had not been calculated yet.