MILAN (Reuters) – A stop to the work on a high-speed rail link with France would cost Italy more than 3 billion euros ($3.36 billion), a junior minister for infrastructure told Corriere della Sera in an interview on Friday.

Armando Siri, who is part of the ruling League party, also said “as things stand today (a stop to the work) won’t happen”.

A dispute in Italy’s coalition over the future of the rail link escalated on Thursday and raised the risk of a government collapse.

The Alpine rail line is backed by the ruling League party but is fiercely opposed by its coalition partner, the 5-Star Movement, which argues Italy’s share of the funding would be better spent upgrading existing roads and bridges.

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