LIVORNO. A “cut” of the Vegliaia dam, symbol of the skyline of the port of Livorno, which stands out in front of the Terrazza Mascagni. It was proposed yesterday by the Port System Authority of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea. The reason? Facilitate the access of large ships to our port: «The work – explains the general secretary of the body, Matteo Paroli – is not necessary at the moment, but we will have to take it into consideration if together with the cutting of the Tripoli (another proposed intervention ed. ) would allow us to facilitate a less critical entry of ships. In recent weeks we have entrusted a company with a hydrodynamic study in reference to the various cutting hypotheses. The objective is to understand whether there could be repercussions linked to the wave motion entering the port basin”.
While «the hypothesis of cutting the Tripoli entrance (Darsena number 1) has the objective of widening the development basin at the entrance to the commercial port – continues Paroli, who also spoke about it yesterday to the partnership body – Next week , together with the manager Enrico Pribaz, we will meet the design studio responsible for developing a preliminary analysis on the feasibility hypotheses”.
President Luciano Guerrieri, on the same occasion, spoke about Darsena Europa, also returning to the Grimaldi-Tdt affair. «The acquisition must be considered an opportunity and not a danger for the maintenance of container traffic. It will be our responsibility to communicate with Tdt and Grimaldi so that the terminal offer aimed at the container market not only remains unchanged, but is oriented towards its development and if necessary we will use all the prerogatives and powers at its disposal to ensure this”.
Given that any change in the intended use of the spaces must be agreed with the body «the Authority will undertake to ensure that the “multipurpose” nature of the port is defended. Rolling stock is not prohibited in the TDT, but the concept is that one type of traffic cannot be developed to the detriment of others”, specified Guerrieri. «There is no underlying ambiguity on our part. Indeed, it is our intention to organize a meeting with Tdt as soon as possible and we will summon the highest representative of the Board of Directors to explain to us what his orientations are: we will ask him for a formal commitment to guarantee the port further development of container traffic and to invest. For us they are decisive elements and will be subject to evaluation when the new industrial plan is presented to us.”
The priorities of the Port Authority remain those already defined in the budget forecast and in the three-year plan of the works and respond to the need to allow the port to arrive alive at the Darsena Europa appointment. «We have an interest in providing the market with the conditions so that it can express itself again on the use of a work that we believe can be made available to operators even in operational phases, for example through the construction of a section of quay – he explains – If we must prepare a future in which to grow, we must ensure that the current container market does not deteriorate, but gains further ground”.
If Darsena Europa represents the future, the present must guarantee the possibility of remaining competitive. At the request of those present, Paroli provided an update on the progress of some expected interventions, starting with those to widen the access canal. Once the retraction of the quay is completed, it will reach a maximum width of 125 metres. The new quay will then allow the creation of subsequent dredging for a seabed of 13 meters under the banks and 16 in the center of the navigable ditch. «The start of work under Eni’s responsibility is now imminent», Paroli announced. «As soon as the navigability and equipment certifications of the vehicles have been received, the master’s office will be able to issue the order prohibiting transit of the Canal. It will take a few more weeks.” The blocking windows of the access channel «will ordinarily run from 11pm to 7am but will be flexible and can be varied based on the needs of the construction site and the port. Regarding timing, the construction site will be handed over to Eni by the first days of May. And it is expected that the intervention will be completed between October and November.” In the meantime, the Authority is moving forward with the maxi-contract to widen the canal: «At the end of March, the technical offices concluded the checks on the temporary grouping of companies that won the tender – he concludes – Further additions will be requested in the next few days , but it is likely that the works will be delivered in May. The first six months will be dedicated to executive planning and the actual work should begin in November”. L
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
