Deputy Minister for Infrastructure & Transport, Edoardo Rixi, stopped in Livorno to visit the North Tyrrhenian Port Network Authority.
He was welcomed by Port Network Authority President Luciano Guerrieri and Managing Director Matteo Paroli, as well as the Darsena Europa Commission Body, led by Mr. Guerrieri himself and Deputy Commissioner Roberta Macii, Senior Technical Dept. Executive Enrico Pribaz and Senior Administrative Executive Simone Gagliani.
The meeting began with a visit to the construction sites where the mega-infrastructure is being built, behind Darsena Toscana, that is expected to lead to a major growth in container traffic.
Awaiting the approval of the executive project (expected, barring any setbacks, by mid-March), the Temporary Joint Venture is working on consolidating the sludge containment basins. The first preloading (a 320,000 m3 mound of soil) has already been placed on the first 80,0002 m of the first containment basin, which is expected to be consolidated in about 30 months, with work completion scheduled for the summer of 2027.
Once the executive project has been approved, it will be possible to begin the construction of the coastal defences and the dredging work. The breakwaters will take about three years to build, while it will take a year and a half to carry out the dredging.
“We’re expecting a lot from Livorno,’ said Rixi, “Clearly, if we do not invest in our port system, modernizing it, we will not be able to seize the opportunities that the world offers us.”
“Italy is a country that wants to greatly strengthen its maritime capacity,” he stressed, pointing out that ports have ample room for improvement. “Today, the port of Rotterdam alone handles more traffic than all our ports put together. Tomorrow our country will have to become Europe’s leading shipping nation. It’s a great challenge. To face it we need to build infrastructure, connections and define new synergies with regional contexts.”
Mr. Rixi said he was in favour of the possibility of finishing Darsena Europa as soon as possible. According to the Deputy Minister this mega-facility is necessary to allow Livorno port to maintain its multipurpose vocation, especially at a time when new growth opportunities are opening up for ro-ro traffic, thanks also to the need to define new commercial strategies with North Africa.
Expressing some concern about the time required to finish the project (scheduled for the end of 2029), in a competitive context in which the forthcoming completion of the European corridors will pose new competitive challenges for the Italian port system, Mr. Rixi said that the yards of the future Darsena Europa, currently under construction, should become profitable as soon as possible, by leasing them out. “The State must be able to have a return on its investments, both in economic terms and in terms of employment,” he said, “and immediately leasing the yards out could be the best way to show the world that our country is moving to meet the challenges ahead.”
At the end of his visit to the port, the deputy minister had the opportunity to meet with the port’s operators at a specially organized meeting at Palazzo Rosciano, the Port Network Authority’s headquarters.
The meeting allowed President Guerrieri to present the projects in the pipeline and the work that has begun over the last few years, with particular emphasis on the development of Green Port-related initiatives, cold ironing in the ports of Livorno, Piombino, and Portoferraio (the work was given the go-ahead in December, and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2026), the Rail Development Policy, the implementation of rail connectivity (the call for tenders for modernizing Livorno Porto Nuovo has just been announced), launching the Simplified Logistics Zone (SLZ), and improving Piombino Port’s passenger reception facilities.
“Our Network Ports are currently undergoing a process of development, project designing and major interventions worth over €640 million, €530 million of which earmarked for the construction of Darsena Europa and €78 million for cold ironing,” said Livorno Port’s leading figure, pointing out that over the last two months many public tender invitations, worth a total of €30 million, had been launched. While other calls for tenders, amounting to €14 million, are due to be published over the next few weeks. In addition, many projects (worth €143 million), have been set up and co-financed with €121 million from the National Recovery & Resilience Plan fund,
What the Port Network Authority’s top management presented to Mr. Rixi is, in short, a competitive port network, with many projects currently in progress or at an advanced stage of completion. Its traffic data also demonstrates its ports are thriving. In 2024 North Tyrrhenian Network ports handled 39 million tonnes of goods, up 1.7 % on the previous year. The number of passengers using Tuscan ports is also on the increase: 10.7 million people i.e. +5% year-on-year.
In the port of Livorno, however, traffic turnover was down 3% from 30.3 to 29.4 million tonnes compared to the previous year. This downturn is mainly attributable to the slump in liquid bulk (-25%) and new car traffic (-9.3 %). The reduced demand for new cars reflects the current economic climate. Container traffic also slowed (-0.9 %), although full container volumes increased by 1.9& year-on-year (from 438 to 447 thousand TEUs).
All other traffic indicators showed signs of growth in 2024. Dry bulk was up 0.5%, general cargo increased by 3% (24 million tonnes in 2024 compared to 23.3 million in 2023). Ro-Ro traffic also improved, +3.8% year-on-year. Forest product traffic registered a 7.5 % growth (with 1.972 mln tonnes in breakbulk).
Asked by operators about how the appointment of the next Port Network Authority presidents was going (Guerrieri’s mandate expires in mid-March), Minister Rixi confirmed that they will be nominated shortly, and that the government’s objective is that the choice should be unanimous. “We will not force the issue,” he said. “What I am trying to do is to find a broad consensus, because our ports do not belong to one political force but to the country. Over the next few days I will be talking to regional governors to find a solution. The government is not a separate entity and on issues like these we are open to dialogue with anyone.”
“Today Deputy Minister Rixi has reconfirmed the strategic importance of the port of Livorno for the country’s economic system,” Mr. Guerrieri said at the end of the meeting. “This meeting has been an important opportunity for sharing and reflecting on the critical issues and growth potential of our port of call. We are working to make our port-logistics system more and more integrated and competitive. Government support is crucial so that the regulation, planning, infrastructural improvement and promotion of our ports can be further implemented.”
Translation by Giles Foster