ROME/GENOA (Reuters) - Giovanni Castellucci is considering resigning as chief executive of Italian motorway firm Autostrade per l'Italia, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, months after a company-operated motorway bridge collapsed, killing 43 people.
Castellucci would stay on however as head of infrastructure group Atlantia, Autostrade's parent company.
He plans to concentrate on Atlantia's international development after Atlantia and Spain's ACS bought Spanish motorway company Abertis for 16.5 billion euros (14.59 billion pounds) this year, the source said.
Politicians from Italy's ruling coalition called for Castellucci's resignation after the motorway bridge in the port city of Genoa collapsed in August.
Asked by Italian newspaper La Repubblica in August if he had considered resigning, Castellucci said he was focused on resolving the emergency.
Castellucci met prosecutors investigating the disaster in Genoa on Wednesday, but declined to answer their questions, handing over a written statement.
Speaking in Genoa after the meeting, Castellucci confirmed that he would have fewer responsibilities in Autostrade in the future, but said this shift pre-dated the bridge collapse.
"My gradual exit from Autostrade had begun before the tragedy of the Morandi bridge and will resume shortly," he told reporters.
Italian daily Il Messaggero reported earlier that Castellucci would resign as Autostrade CEO by the end of this year.
Castellucci reassured prosecutors at Wednesday's meeting that the company's network was safe, he said in a statement issued by Autostrade after the meeting.
The CEO's lawyer said Castellucci had told prosecutors he would be available for questions once an inquiry into the bridge collapse is completed and the causes of the disaster have been established.
Castellucci had filed a written brief describing the efforts he had put in place as CEO of Autostrade after the bridge disaster, the lawyer added.
Shares in Atlantia were down 2.13 percent at 1153 GMT, underperfoming the Milan bluechip index <.FTMIB>, which was up 0.2 percent.
(Reporting by Stefano Bernabei and Paola Balsomini, writing by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Adrian Croft)
