The president of the Southern Adriatic Sea Port System Authority suffered greatly due to the criminal proceedings that he had to undergo for his activities Ugo Patroni Griffi, who will leave his position at the end of June for health reasons. And precisely these sufferings, he says, could have had an impact, at least in part, on the early end of his mandate. But his real regret, as a true Bari native, is that he was unable to give his city a new port master plan.
If you were to take stock of these seven years, what would you include among the most important results you have managed to achieve?
«We intercepted a stratospheric quantity of resources, which exceeded one billion euros. All committed to the creation of essential infrastructures for the accessibility of ports and to accompany the energy transition. Even in the latest port to enter the system, that of Termoli. Here we announced and awarded the 6 million euro tender for cold ironing, the electrification of the docks. Going south we find the port of Manfredonia, where we are at a very advanced stage of drafting the port master plan. Manfredonia, in fact, is one of the very few ports that does not even have a plan before law 84/94. We have launched the 131 million tender for the Alti Fondane pier, we are dredging the commercial port, we have built the cruise station and created a village for fishermen. Furthermore, in the next few days, I will sign a historic agreement with the ASI consortium both as regards the perimeter of the PRP and as regards the removal of the famous “golden ribbons” which create many difficulties for operators on the quay”.
Among “its” ports there is also Barletta.
«Here we are dredging the port, one of the most notoriously complex activities. We have recovered the Napoleonic lighthouse and, with the administration, the trebuchet. We are carrying out extraordinary maintenance work on the quay and there is a project to relocate the coastal fuel depots and lengthen the piers. We are preparing the documents for the tender, which will be announced soon. We already have 25 million of the 38 million needed but the difference was ensured by the dialogue between Senator Damiani and Minister Fitto. In this way, we will guarantee safety and prevent the port from silting up.”
And in Bari, your city, did you manage to achieve the results you had imagined?
«Here we have the 210 million of the truckable. Of these, 80 million belong to the System Authority and concern the connection in the port area. The contract has been awarded and we are just waiting for the work to begin. Always up Bari we have the contract, which is proceeding very quickly, for the new maritime station dedicated to cruises, we have already built the docking tooth and dredged the area overlooking Marisabella some time ago. We are carrying out the dredging of the Eastern Seno: in recent days the nautical vessel necessary to bring the bathymetry to -13 is arriving. We have already created large service yards, inaugurated in recent days, tensile structures serving the shipbuilding industry and a cutting-edge data processing center that offers all the computing capacity necessary for the IT system of the six ports. Still in Bari, we are awaiting the final validation of the project for the San Cataldo pier, where the dock for the Coast Guard naval base and the Coast Guard school will be built, while in the internal part there will be the tourist landing place. Work in Marisabella, which had been blocked for years, has been resumed and an area of over 60 hectares will soon be returned to the port’s operation. In Monopoli, in addition to the new maritime station, we are carrying out extraordinary maintenance and we have the dredging project, which is more complex than usual as it is on rock”.
Finally, cross and delight: Brindisi.
«The last documents relating to the Vas requirements on the port master plan have arrived in recent days. The offices are preparing the summary report, after which the PRP can be approved, I imagine already in July. Furthermore, the guidelines of the Superior Council of Public Works, on which the engineer Caiulo worked, have overcome all the doubts expressed regarding the correctness of the drafting of the Plan. The two landfill sites have been contracted. Strategic works. The Costa Morena one will allow the port to be dredged down to -14 and, once docked, that area will be able to accommodate shipbuilding and satisfy the new needs of the Navy. And speaking of Marina, in these days the tenders for extraordinary maintenance will be announced, the documents for which were drawn up by the System Authority on the basis of a dating agreement that I wanted to honour, for the redevelopment of the Seno di Ponente and all the areas served by military needs. Capo Bianco, another very important work, has been contracted and is a work that is offered to the offshore wind industry with the expression of interest from Fincosit which not only intends to adapt the load-bearing capacity of the quay to those required for this type of operation but also operate it and produce the floaters needed for offshore wind. I also announce that the financing for the “Le Vele” station has been recovered. Good news that I feel like giving at the end of my mandate. Now all that needs to be done is the services conference preparatory to calling the tender. And again the renovation of the Pedagne lighthouse, the reclamation of Punta delle Terrare offered as environmental compensation as part of the project for the Sant’Apollinare docks, with the redevelopment and renovation of the Skirmut house which will be handed over to the Municipality for tourism promotion activities . This area, together with the large Fiume Grande park, will be part of the candidacy of Toasts Capital of culture, like the painting commissioned by Francesco Filippelli as a territorial marketing operation and recovery of historical memory. Furthermore, having overcome all the problems, we managed to announce the cold ironing competition in both Brindisi and Bari. In recent days we have also won a tender from the Ministry of Agricultural Policies to support food logistics and the cold chain, totally redeveloping the “Il mondo” passenger station, giving it a modern and attractive appearance. And again the briccole pier, the closing of the Sant’Apollinare dock services conference. But above all I am happy about one thing.”
What?
«That if I had supported the absurd demand to demolish the customs fence, there would be no G7 in Brindisi today. If I hadn’t fought for this port, there wouldn’t have been this important showcase.”
Precisely in Brindisi, however, more than in the other ports, you encountered many difficulties.
“Yes. Difficulties that have also harmed me personally. I don’t believe that a person trying to do their job should unfairly suffer the shame of criminal prosecution. Something that hurt me and that probably, to some extent, contributed to bringing forward the end of my assignment. Everything affects a person’s well-being. It’s not that certain things remained indifferent to me, on the contrary they weighed heavily on me and my family. And I am extremely saddened by it. Having said that, I’ve never had it against anyone. I have always tried to do my job, making the most of my skills and I must say that even today I cannot understand the conflicts I have suffered, also because in the end the data always proved me right: time was only wasted, to the detriment of the city”.
Do you have any regrets?
«Only one: not having yet started the master plan for the port of my city. Honestly, there was always an emergency that slowed me down and therefore my city, which I particularly care about, is the furthest behind of all on the PRP front. And obviously I’m a little sad about this. Another regret is that so much time has been wasted on the cards and instead, as a southerner, I am convinced that the only redemption of the South is in the infrastructure and that as many as possible and as quickly as possible must be created to stop the desertification of the South” .
What will she have left, from a human point of view, of these seven years?
«Every assignment leaves me enriched. The balance, in the end, for me is always positive: I leave a different man, probably better, than I was on the date of accepting the job. The system of relationships, the challenges and everything else have a profound impact and enrich the wealth of knowledge and horizons. Let’s say it’s a sort of professional deformation of a university professor: every opportunity is a good one to learn something.”
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