Widen the narrow section of the Marzocco channel to make the port more accessible, so that it can safely accommodate larger boxships than the ones currently coming to Darsena Toscana.
This is what prompted the Port Network Authority to publish the call for tenders for reprofiling the harbour access channel a few days ago.
This is no minor task. The work is necessary for quaying one of the sides of the shipping channel to the commercial port, which is currently no more than 60 metres wide in its narrowest part, 90 metres in is widest.
Once the work to reprofile the quay backwards is completed, the Marzocco channel will have a maximum width of 125 metres. The new quaying will also allow the subsequent dredging work to be carried out, which will guarantee a depth of 13 metres below the banks and 16 metres at the centre of the shipping channel.
Both operations will be conducted only after the Eni pipelines that run along both sides of the channel, limiting its navigable section, have been completely repositioned underground.
Eni is already in the process of fitting the new pipes into the newly constructed micro-tunnel crossing the canal and testing them. Once this has been completed, it will connect them to the pipeline ashore, after which it will become possible to remove the old pipes lying on the banks.
Once the micro-tunnel is operational, the Port Network Authority will also rebuild the Magnale embankment (on the opposite bank of the Marzocco channel) where the oil pipelines are located, so as to create a new quay to facilitate the dredging of the channel.
“This project is strategic,” says Port Network Authority president , Luciano Guerrieri.”We are happy to have got to the point of publishing this important call for tenders. This means our efforts, Eni’s and all the companies’ in the supply chain have been rewarded. We now hope to be able to proceed with the adjudication of this work soon. With the widening of the harbour access channel, we will be able to accommodate larger container ships than we currently can and ensure additional economic growth for the port while the Darsena Europa mega-infrastructure is being completed.”
Mr. Guerrieri also pointed out how the work as a whole will improve the safety of the port, facilitating vessel arrival and departure manoeuvres. “I would like to thank our managing director, Matteo Paroli, Roberta Macii, in charge of the tender procedure, and our technical sector’s senior executive, Enrico Pribaz, for the impetus he has given to this very complex tender. I would also like to thank the director of Eni, Pietro Chèrié Lignière, for the care, professionalism, and commitment he is putting into bringing this project to fruition, in close coordination with all the stakeholders involved.”
The mega contract also includes the quaying work planned for putting the Marzocco tower in a water setting. The tower is a historical asset dating back to the 15th century, set like a pearl in the commercial port. Basically, the Port Network Authority intends to build a canal around the monument, making it accessible from the sea.
Once the work is completed, it will be possible to sail around the tower with special boats, allowing it to be observed even from the sea, in complete safety.
The total cost of all these projects is approximately 20 million euros.
The Port Network Authority estimates that project designing will take 120 days and a further 675 days for carrying out the work. The deadline for presenting tenders is set for September.
Translation by Giles Foster