Work camps for prisoners of war in Italy

During the summer of 1942, following the evolution of the military situation in Libya, the need to coordinate the management of prisoners became a real emergency for the Italian government.
As of 1 June 1942, there were 16,212 prisoners of war dependent on Italy, but on 1 September 1942 this had become 76,706. Most of the new prisoners captured in Libya were still in the Overseas Territories, awaiting transport to Italy.
The only solution that seemed economically viable was to assign the prisoners to private companies. In practice, private companies, under the superintendence of the Ministry of Corporations and the military authorities, bore the cost of building the labour camps. The running costs were paid with the labour of the prisoners themselves.