Italy: Five fuel stations to close down at highway

The sites, located on the Torino-Savona route, are required to stop operating by a decree passed in 2015 to “restructure the network of motorway service areas", informed Moleventiquattro.

The decree was signed in 2015 by the Minister of Transport, Maurizio Lupi, and the Minister of Development, Federica Guidi. Under the policy 25 service stations throughout Italy would face closure by 2018.

Representatives of the closed fuel stations argue that these sites weren't making loses, on the contrary, their closure means the end of healthy businesses and around 50 job positions.

What did the 2015 decree provide for?

This policy aimed at fostering greater cost-effectiveness and efficiency in motorway services, both in commercial and catering activities and in the distribution of fuels and lubricants.

It provided for the unification of the management of certain service areas, mainly located on each side of the motorway; the expansion of self-service refuelling services, particularly at night; and the closure of a limited number of service areas which were not economically viable.