VENICE – Peace made for cruises in Venice. Yesterday, 20 June, the Management Committee of the Port Authority approved the request presented by Vtp, the company Venice Passenger Terminal which manages the sector in the lagoon, closing the dispute that broke out months ago over compensation for damages following the Draghi’s decree 103 which definitively closed the transit of large ships in the San Marco basin. The expiry of the concession, from 1 June 2026, will be extended by ten years to 31 May 2036, and secondly all existing berths and those to be built by the cruise commissioner in the two terminals will also be entrusted to the management of VTP container in Marghera, at the Fusina ferry terminal, at the port of Chioggia and the terminal in the Northern industrial canal that the Authority will build by the end of 2026 for two large ships.
THE TERMINALS
In addition to these, of course, VTP – 53% owned by Apvs (a company between Veneto Innovazione della Regione and cruise companies), 22.18% by the private individuals of Finpax, 22.18% by Save aeroporto, and 2, 64% from Chamber of Commerce Venice Rovigo – will maintain the management of the Marittima, the station which will return to hosting medium-small sized ships when the Vittorio Emanuele III canal connecting the Petroli canal with Venice has been dug by 2026. VTP, for its part, having less work due to the decline in ships and the number of passengers (from 1 and a half million in 2019 to just over 500 thousand expected for 2024 and one million within the next few years), will give up three large buildings in the Marittima, 103, 117 and number 1 which will be returned to the Port in June 2026. Furthermore, the company is committed to making new investments in infrastructure and technology for over 19 million euros by 2036 in Venice (in the state-owned maritime areas of Marittima, new passenger station, San Basilio, Santa Marta and Riva Sette Martiri) and in Chioggia (Saloni Island). The buildings that VTP will give up are important because, in particular the modern 103, they have been used for years for large events and conferences, such as the Space Meeting Veneto which was held in May with companies from all over the world. The Port says they will remain as a port, although it does not know what it will do with them. The president of VTP, Fabrizio Spagna, however, assures that «we will continue to organize conferences and events, only that from 2026 we will no longer have the management of the buildings but will rent them from the Port from time to time». The new instance therefore envisages a revolution in VTP, which will be resized in the Marittima but will expand to Marghera, Fusina and Chioggia. Will this cause staff reductions?
BIG EVENTS
«Absolutely not, there is no reason. The request that was accepted by the Port Authority recognizes that our concession, after the Draghi decree of 2021 and until its expiry in 2026, could no longer be used due to lack of ships and space. I therefore take this opportunity to thank on behalf of all the shareholders the Authority and the Government which, in particular with Deputy Minister Rixi, helped to find a solution”. For his part, Edoardo Rixi, deputy minister of Infrastructure and Transport, underlines that “the positive conclusion of the process for rebalancing the VTP concession contributes to a new model of sustainable cruise tourism with greater certainty for the market and confirmation for workers”. And Fulvio Lino Di Blasio, the president of the Northern Adriatic Sea Port System Authority and cruise commissioner, added that «with the Committee’s decision on the VTP request, the final moment of the work of the last few months carried out with personal commitment of the deputy minister Edoardo Rixi, the second phase of the rebalancing process is finally being implemented, also supported by an opinion from the State Attorney’s Office”.
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