Milan :The site is far from finished, the project has been plagued by corruption scandals and there are fears of disruption by protestors opposed to it taking place at all.
Yet somehow Expo Milan 2015, the first world fair since Shanghai five years ago, will open its doors on Friday and Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is insisting everything is going to be just fine. As frantic round the clock preparations continued right up to the last minute, all the signs were that the specially constructed 110 hectare site on the outskirts of Italy’s economic capital would be some way from being completed in time for Friday’s grand opening.
The 2.5-billion euro ($2.8 billion) project has been beset by corruption scandals, which have contributed to the delays, and by fears the Expo itself could be the target of violent demonstrations by opponents who say the massively indebted Italian state should not be ploughing money into an ephemeral event at a time of economic hardship for many Italians.
