Port of Genoa receives €300 million for expansion

Port of Genoa, Italy

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is to provide a €300 million loan for the expansion and renewal of the Port of Genoa in Italy.

Said to be the first EIB operation in Italy for a project that is also being co-financed by the government, the loan was awarded to the Port Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea (Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mar Ligure Occidentale). 

It will help to finance a range of works at the port, including upgrades to terminals, environmental management works and the construction of a new breakwater - a barrier built out into the sea to protect the port and visiting vessels from the force of waves.

Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Vice-President, said, “We are proud to support the infrastructure and environmental development of the Port of Genoa, a key economic, export and tourism hub for Italy.

“One of the EIB’s main objectives is to invest in infrastructure promoting connectivity and environmental sustainability as tools to strengthen resilience and economic competitiveness and to assert European strategic positioning globally.” 

The renewal works to the port are believed to be the largest to the Ligurian port area for over 25 years.

The Italian government has earmarked a total of €600 million (€500 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility Complementary Fund and €100 million from the Port Infrastructure Fund) for the project.

In addition to reducing the risks of climate-induced flooding, renewal and refurbishment works to the port will allow modern cargo ships to access the port easily, enabling the safe loading and unloading of cargo, and provide the port a strategic advantage for capacity.

Speaking of the new EIB loan, Paolo Emilio Signorini, President of the Port Authority of the Western Ligurian, said, “We are very proud of today’s signature, which demonstrates how involved the EU bank is in the development of Italy’s premier port in the European core network, and the strategic value of the new Genoa breakwater for the development of the port logistics system in a spirit of safety and sustainability.

The new breakwater at the Port of Genoa has been designed to give ships direct access to its terminal facilities and, unlike the port’s existing breakwater, it will incorporate a wide turning basin that will allow ultra-large ships to manoeuvre safely.

The renewal project will also contribute to upgrading the FuoriMuro railway network with 750m of track, benefiting freight transit and reducing the road traffic caused by lorries arriving at the port.

Work is expected to start in 2022 and end in 2024, with the exception of the breakwater, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.