This afternoon, the Undersecretary for Infrastructure & Transport, Tullio Ferrante, visited the port of Livorno. With the president of the North Tyrrhenian Port Network Authority, Luciano Guerrieri, he took stock of the port’s infrastructures and strategic development priorities.
A press briefing was held in front of the Port Network Authority’s headquarters, before the guided tour of the port. Mr. Ferrante confirmed, among other things, the Ministry of Infrastructure’s commitment to find, in the next public finance measures, the necessary financial coverage for building the rail link between Vespucci freight village and the Collesalvetti-Vada line. This is a strategic project for the port. €300 million had been initially allocated as part of the RFI 2022-2026 contract. However, that the government subsequently decided to allocate these resources to other works.
After the reassurances already given by Deputy Minister Rixi at a conference organized in Livorno in February this year, today Undersecretary Ferrante confirmed his intention to complete the entire Raccordo project, worth a total of €750 million. In addition to the overpass between the Port and the freight village already financed and under construction, it includes the construction of a new stretch of track with the line extending from Pisa to Vada, south of Livorno, and the connection to the Florence node via the Pisa bypass (the second part of the project).
The Darsena Europa project was also addressed during the meeting. Mr. Ferrante acknowledged the widespread commitment to bringing forward the timeline for laying the foundation stone.
“Undersecretary Ferrante has been attentive and helpful,” said Mr. Guerrieri, who added: “In the short – to – medium term we have various challenges in front of us. One of these is the Darsena Europa. I know that the Ministry of Infrastructure agrees that we need to get the work started as soon as possible. We have sent the Ministry of the Environment the executive project with the compliance report with the prescriptions. We would like the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) Commission to give it the go-ahead as soon as possible.”
As for the Raccordo project: “The design phase is going ahead,” said Guerrieri, “the Ministry of Infrastructure has reaffirmed on more than one occasion its commitment to finding the necessary funds for the work: the new rail links are vitally important for the port because they will give us the opportunity to substantially implement our intermodality, which is considered a national priority.”
The expansion of the Vespucci Freight Village was the last issue to be addressed: “I explained to Undersecretary Ferrante that our freight village needs new areas to further develop its natural, strategic vocation as a logistic hub for Livorno port. We have to set up new synergies between our Port Network Authority, Tuscany Regional Administration, the municipalities concerned and the Infrastructure & Transport Ministry in order to offer a comprehensive port-logistics-industry systemic solution.”
Translation by Giles Foster