The Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Sea Port Authority has launched the tender process for the completion of dredging works in the Gioia Tauro port channel, in the northern section of the port, opposite the Eranova dock and along the related turning basin.
The project, valued at €2.62 million ($2.23 million), forms part of a broader €5 million ($5.7 million) port water depth enhancement scheme, aimed at achieving a 17-metre depth in the affected areas, in addition to the 18-metre depth already present along the container terminal’s deep-water channel.
The tender includes provision for a contractual modification that could increase the value by a further €1.3 million ($1.4 million), should the authority deem it necessary.
The seabed adjustment is intended to improve navigation safety, enhance infrastructure functionality, and ensure the port’s full operability as international maritime transport continues to trend toward larger containerships.
Maintaining deep waters is considered essential to preserving Gioia Tauro’s competitiveness as the only Italian port capable of accommodating large ocean-going container ships, consolidating its role as the country’s main transhipment gateway and a strategic logistics hub for Central and Southern Italy in the Mediterranean.
READ: Port of Gioia Tauro tenders €5.6 million RoRo berth upgrade
Paolo Piacenza, President of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Sea Port Authority, said: “With this project, we are continuing the port’s modernisation process, combining major infrastructure projects with ongoing maintenance and technical upgrades.
“This is essential to preserving Gioia Tauro’s role as the country’s main transhipment hub and the only Italian port capable of accommodating the latest generation of large, ultra-ocean-going vessels. Investing in the seabed means investing in the port’s future, its ability to attract new traffic, generate economic development, and strengthen Gioia Tauro’s central role as the country’s key logistics hub for strategic Mediterranean routes.”
The project comprises two distinct activities. The first involves completing the dredging of the port’s northern area to a depth of 17 metres, ensuring full functionality of the inner basin and vessel manoeuvring.
The second involves reusing part of the dredged sediment to construct a submerged barrier approximately 350 metres long near the adjacent shoreline, as part of a coastal nourishment project.
For more information:
Port System Authority of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas – https://www.portodigioiatauro.it/autorita-portuale/?lang=en
