Source: Sardinia Region, September 30, 2025
Today the first meeting of the Steering Committee on the Einstein Telescope was held. This coordinating body, established by the Region, involves not only the entire Regional Government but also the mayors of Lula, Bitti, Onanì, Orune, and Nuoro, and is extended to include the participation of additional institutions, regional agencies, the most representative trade unions, employers’ organizations, provincial capitals, municipal associations, unions of municipalities, and the Comunità Montane Area Vasta.
«We are working on the possibility of expanding participation in the project to Saxony, and at the same time we continue to build the process with concrete measures and resources», said President Alessandra Todde in her opening remarks to the assembly.
The meeting was above all an opportunity to inform participants about the measures already implemented and those planned. Among them are those to be discussed in a preliminary Conference of services convened specifically for November 7.
«Regardless of the outcome, which will be decided in 2026, there are already numerous concrete initiatives moving forward in the area», Todde stated. «The purpose of today’s meeting is to define a working method, share information, and ensure that everyone is aware of the impacts and actions needed to maximize this opportunity across different territories. It is important to pool what is already underway: planned projects, their progress, and development prospects».
For the Region, the central aspect is ensuring the involvement of all affected territories, so that initiatives (related to the enhancement of Sardinia’s cultural heritage, transportation, tourism, and local economic development) are shared and coordinated. «This», the President assured, «will be one of the topics we will bring to the technical working groups in the upcoming meetings».
The Region’s consultant on the Einstein Telescope, Raffaele Marras, outlined to participants the initiatives taken so far in support of the candidacy. These include the scientific cooperation agreement signed with Spain in July 2024, the creation of the Project Unit, the signing in March of the Program Agreement between the Region and institutional and local partners, the establishment of the Promoting Committee with universities and research institutes, the agreement with the GARR Consortium for access to the GARR-T network, and the call for expressions of interest by Sardegna Ricerche for businesses in technological fields related to the ET.
In June, the candidacy was promoted internationally at Expo Osaka, with the involvement of the Departments of Planning, Industry, and Tourism, while in August a decision was made to open an Infopoint in Lula and a scientific exhibition space in Nuoro, with communicators trained by the universities.
For the Einstein Telescope, the Region has already allocated €350 million as a co-financing share with the Ministry of Universities, €20 million for works involving the restructuring of the Minghetti Dam—necessary to improve water resource management in the area—and the upgrading of the access road to the ET SUnLab Research Center, which itself will receive another €10 million in regional co-financing, to be built in the former Ri.Mi.Sa. area.
An important point raised by participants is that the Einstein Telescope project does not only concern the Sos Enattos site in Lula, the candidate to host it, but represents an opportunity for the future development of the entire island. In this sense, the President of the Cagliari-Oristano Chamber of Commerce, Maurizio De Pascale, the Secretary of CGIL, Fausto Durante, the leaders of UIL and CISL, Gianni Olla and Pierluigi Ledda, the representative of Confapi Sardegna, Giorgio Delpiano, and that of Confcooperative, Gilberto Marras, all expressed their views. While appreciating their involvement in the Steering Committee, they all highlighted the great opportunity ahead for Sardinia and the need to prepare all the necessary initiatives to avoid being unprepared.
Also speaking at the meeting were the Mayor of Nuoro, Emiliano Fenu, and the Councillor for Territorial Planning of the Municipality of Sassari, Maria Francesca Fantato. Both administrators assured their institutions’ spirit of collaboration.