The Port System Authority of the Central Adriatic Sea (ADSP) and Fincantieri have signed a programme agreement to foster the development of the Port of Ancona.
Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and Managing Director of Fincantieri, and Vincenzo Garofalo, President of ADSP, signed the deal.
The agreement’s purpose is to expand the port’s present infrastructure – building piers, dry dock, technology and lifting capabilities – and use it to build ships of higher size and tonnage in both the cruise and mercantile sectors.
The investment is approximately €80 million ($85 million), of which €40 million ($42 million) is public money: 20 for the construction of a new pier and 20 for the extension of the dry dock, including the security of the breakwater.
The remaining €40 million ($42 million) will come from Fincantieri’s private investment as part of the procedure for obtaining the new state concession for the next 40 years, and will be used to promote shipbuilding in the Port of Ancona.
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The group’s investment reportedly comprises of industrial projects aimed at attaining the greatest levels of production and quality in accordance with the best worldwide standards in the field, all while adhering to the principles of improved environmental sustainability and increased worker safety.
The programme agreement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2018 by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Authority for strategic infrastructure investments for the development of shipbuilding in the Port of Ancona, as well as the subsequent ministerial decree authorising public financing of €40 million ($42 million).
Vincenzo Garofalo, President of the Port System Authority of the Central Adriatic Sea, noted: “An agreement and an investment that will have a strong impact on the future development prospects of the Port of Ancona, with positive economic and social repercussions on the city and the region.
“Fincantieri, one of the port’s primary operators, has thus reaffirmed its confidence in the possibilities of growth and development of the facility in Ancona and the entire port infrastructure.”
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Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and Managing Director of Fincantieri, commented: “With the development of the port of Ancona we’re moving into the future with ambition and innovation.
“This agreement underscores our ability to invest in the Italian system and to create value for the region and the entire shipbuilding sector. It’s an important step: to make things happen resources aren’t enough, you have to actually put them on the ground.”