La Spezia – The tender for the expansion of the terminal will be published in the last ten days of May. The new Molo Ravano, whose work will begin by the end of the year, will be operational between the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027. And Contship is interested in the Enel areas. Not only in a “temporary” way, due to the hunger for space caused by the construction sites starting on the docks. But also with a long-term vision. These are the innovations that were brought by the CEO of the Contship Italia Group Matthieu Gasselin, who participated in the conference “Under the sign of the port 2” in the Auditorium of the Port System Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea. The second annual appointment to take stock of the prospects of the La Spezia airport. «We are on schedule, the tender for the expansion of the terminal will be launched between 20 and 30 May» confirmed Gasselin. The company will invest 250 million euros, to which will be added another 50 million euros for the cranes and vehicles for the yard and the Molo Fornelli. «The largest investment made in Italy by the company in the last 60 years» remarked the CEO, who in recent days discussed with board member and shareholder Tom Eckelmann. «Someone said that Ligurian ports would never see 20,000 TEU ships, we have already had three with the start of a rotational service. We invest with confidence in a period of great general uncertainty, because it is not known what will happen over the next two or three years: however, the shareholder confirms that we are not interested in the short term but the long term, we are moving on a vision at least 20 years”.
The difficulties caused by the reduction of space, with the start of work on the railway infrastructure and the liberation of Calata Paita from the containers, are a fact. While waiting for the cycle of port investments to end, those linked to the Pnrr are looking to 2026, but we need to grit our teeth. Soliciting government support for businesses, including speeding up processes. Investments need certainty «also from a political point of view locally, we have the responsibility of thousands of families who work in La Spezia and for this we need stability. With the Authority we have found the right solution, but we need reassurances from the entire system and from the city, which believes in us and supports us.” Investments in the Third Basin, meanwhile, will generate at least another 100 jobs. The positive start of 2023 in terms of traffic for Gasselin is not only a “bubble” determined by the Suez crisis, which benefits the Tyrrhenian ports, but is also determined by a “credibility” built over the years.
«We have already ordered the new fifth wheels for the carousel of goods that will arrive around September or October» said Gasselin, reiterating how the investments will allow us to increase competitiveness and efficiency, increasing the maritime flow and also attacking the Southern European market , in particular Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The delays in the tender were caused by difficulties from a technological point of view, «we have difficult foundations on which to build. There was never any change of heart». The areas of the former coal power plant, made available by Enel through an expression of interest, are under the attention of Contship. «We are committed to giving Calata Paita back in 2025, but we need areas to continue developing the terminal, guaranteeing operational capacity on the quay. We need to exploit the capacity of areas close to the terminal, otherwise the terminal becomes saturated. I like the idea of the new waterfront, to improve the city, which will certainly have more appeal than many containers. The solution to the spaces in the western bunker, where we could start putting electric vehicles, is fundamental.” Because the investments, in addition to the greater operation of the airport, will create jobs. And we can’t stop. For the electrification of the commercial docks, the times, Gasselin replied, are being defined with the via del Molo authority.
Tags: tender expansion port Spezia underway
