UA shadow looms over the future of the Port of Naples, which has been awaiting crucial interventions for its operations for years.
The alarm was raised by Pasquale Legora de Feo, president of UNIPORT (and also president of Co.Na.Te.Co and president of Soteco), regarding an amendment to the bill converting Decree 96/2025 (the so-called "Sport Decree").
The law provides for the use of the residual capacity of the landfill tanks of the Port of Naples to deposit the debris from the dredging of the Bagnoli-Coroglio area, an operation preparatory to the America's Cup.
"This amendment risks penalizing the city of Naples and the entire Campania region, further delaying the completion of a project the Port of Naples has been waiting for years," commented Legora de Feo. While the America's Cup event "makes us proud," "the solutions that have reportedly been identified to carry out the works necessary for this event raise many concerns."
Adequate seabeds, a multi-year emergency
The UNIPORT association's primary concern is that the proposed solution would ultimately "bring the Port of Naples to its knees," depriving it of the spaces already designated for the dredged materials and effectively hindering the long-awaited excavation work on the seabed. These works are vital to allow the docking of larger commercial vessels and to the activation of the crucial Darsena di Levante.
"We are eagerly awaiting the completion of the PNRR construction sites, precisely to carry out the excavations that are essential to the port's survival," emphasized Legora de Feo. The fear is that this could create competition between two strategic projects for the city, a mistake that would be "extremely serious" and "would jeopardize the survival of what is, in all respects, Campania's leading company."
The entire Neapolitan maritime and port cluster, concluded Legora de Feo, is "more united than ever in calling on the Government and Parliament to identify alternative solutions that combine the coexistence of initiatives that are equally high priorities for the city and do not jeopardize the completion of long-awaited projects that are fundamental to the growth of the port of Naples."
The ball is now in the legislator's court, which must strike a balance between the demands of a major sporting event and the essential infrastructure needs of one of Italy's most important ports.
Article published by Federica Annunziata on July 10, 2025, at 16:47 AM
Comments (1)
This is a major problem for the Port of Naples, because if nothing is done, the work could stall and be pointless. Let's hope the government makes decisions that benefit everyone, not just sporting events.