A delegation of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) of the European Parliament, led by Chair Karima Delli, visited the capital of Liguria on a fact-finding mission to receive an update on the major infrastructure projects of European significance underway in the Ports of Genoa and Savona-Vado Ligure, the southern maritime apex of the Rhine-Alpine Trans-European transport network corridor connecting Genoa to the premier seaports in Northern Europe.
Genoa, 4 April 2023 - The 10-member delegation's three-day mission to Liguria and Tuscany included a full day dedicated to the Port of Genoa, with a spotlight on the main infrastructure challenges posed by vessel upsizing and on relations between the city, Europe and the rest of the Mediterranean in terms of sustainable development and mobility.
During the meeting held at the Palazzo San Giorgio headquarters with the industry associations of the Ports of Genoa's vibrant shipping cluster, the Secretary General of the Western Ligurian Port Authority, Paolo Piacenza, flanked by Mayor Marco Bucci, had the opportunity to illustrate the 3 billion-euro investment programme underway across Genoa and Savona-Vado Ligure and the strategic role of the port as leading maritime hub for Italy's manufacturing and consumer heartland. "Our priority for development focuses on improved accessibility, both by sea and by rail, on sustainability and on greater city-port integration, with the objective of increasing throughput whilst simultaneously reducing emissions. Within this framework, the Port Authority is investing over 30 million euros in onshore power supply in Genoa and Savona's cruise and ferry passenger ports, in addition to the shoreside electricity power plants already operational in the Pra' container terminal facility and in the Ship Repairs area", declared Paolo Piacenza in his opening speech.
"The Port of Genoa", - declared Karima Delli at the end of the boat inspection of the Port of Genoa facilities - is not only a port for goods and passengers but a point of connection between cultures. The city is truly impressive: it is the gateway to the south of Europe and it must also be a spokesman of European ambitions from the point of view of climate, social equity and especially with regard to an opening to the Mediterranean Sea."
In addition to Chair Delli (FR), the nine other MEPs who took part in the mission are Marian Jean Marinescu (RO), Massimiliano Salini (IT), Josianne Cutajar (MT), José Ramòn Bauzà Diaz (ES), Nicola Danti (IT), Bergur Lokke Rasmussen (DK), Marco Campomenosi (IT), Carlo Fidanza (IT), and Roberts Zile (LV).
