A round-table discussion was held at the Embassy of Italy in London today to examine projects to develop the Lazio port network, comprising the ports of Civitavecchia, Fiumicino and Gaeta. The discussion, attended by over 30 selected investors and operators in the sector, was led by Francesco Maria di Majo, the head of the Authorities of the Port System of the Northern Central Tyrrhean Sea. The event was organised in collaboration with the logistics company Intergroup and the law firm Nctm.
The Lazio port network, which was established in 2002, was the first example in Italy of an integrated regional port network. The ambassador, Raffaele Trombetta, observed that the network has improved stability and allowed the individual ports to rationalise their resources through specialisation and complementary operations. Di Majo also emphasised Lazio’s strategic position in the centre-west of Italy. This area is the second most important market in Italy and one of the most important in Europe, with access to some of the largest pools of both producers and consumers. The three ports also serve the neighbouring regions of Umbria and Tuscany as well as parts of the Adriatic coast, such as the Marche and Abruzzo regions.
The development proposals presented included interventions to increase efficiency by improving links between the various regional logistics operators and links with local markets; infrastructural investments in each of the three ports in order to further facilitate their respective specialisations (tourism, logistics, energy, etc.); and the integration of the logistic chains of the ports of Civitavecchia and Barcelona under the project “BClink: MOS for the future”, co-financed by the EU.
The participants highlighted the desirability of boosting investments in the projects – particularly those focusing on infrastructure – by the private sector. They also mentioned the authorities’ aim of optimising energy consumption in the three ports in order to bring them in line with the performance of the most energy-efficient European ports, in light of the CO2 emissions targets set by the EU’s 2020 Climate and Energy Package.