UPDATE 1-Atlantia's motorway concession must be revoked - deputy minister

Atlantia's motorway concession must be revoked and the Italian government will make the decision in the coming days, Italy's Deputy Transport Minister Giancarlo Canceller said in an interview on Friday.

"I repeat: we must give a strong signal and for this reason, the concession to (Atlantia's unit) Autostrade per l'Italia must be revoked. There are no more alibis...," Cancelleri told La Stampa daily. Controlled by Italy's Benetton family and in charge of the country's biggest motorway network, infrastructure group Atlantia has been in the crosshairs since a concrete bridge it operated collapsed in the city of Genoa in August 2018, killing 43 people.

Autostrade per l'Italia (ASPI), one of the country's 26 motorway operators, manages just over 3,000 kilometers of the country's motorway network. The leader of the ruling 5-Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, on Wednesday, said that a newly-introduced measure limiting the compensation the government would owe for early termination of the contract was a first step in allowing Rome to strip Atlantia's unit Autostrade per l'Italia (ASPI) of its concession.

A source close to the company last month said the loss of the concession without compensation could trigger a default on 16 billion euros ($17.9 billion) of debt at the company and parent Atlantia. Canceller added that it was not, however, the intention of the government to nationalize the Italian motorway network.

Shares in the company opened down 1.29% on Friday against a 0.5% fall for Italy's blue-chip index but swiftly turned higher in a very thin market.