Sarno, the €407 million mega-plan is underway: tenders are open to secure the basin.

Naples – The hour has come for the remediation and safety of the Sarno River basin, one of the areas with the highest hydraulic and ecological risk in Italy. The online open tender procedure for the awarding of the four-year Framework Agreement to implement the "Strategic Program for Environmental Redevelopment and Hydraulic Risk Management" has been officially published.

A massive project costing a staggering €406.990.761,29, co-financed by the European Union as part of the Cohesion Italy 2021-2027 resources allocated to the Campania Region. The procedure, divided into seven performance-based and territorial lots, will adopt the most economically advantageous tender criterion to ensure the highest technical quality in the execution of the works.

2032 target: enhanced reservoirs and record flow rates

The plan's estimates and guidelines outline a clear path. By 2032, the entire hydraulic system of the area will undergo a profound structural transformation. The strategic strengthening of the retention basins will increase the overall storage capacity by over 5 million cubic meters, creating a crucial barrier against flooding and overflowing during high water.

At the same time, the engineering works will ensure a flow capacity and a hydraulic flow rate of 120 cubic meters per second (m³/s) at the mouth, finally protecting the numerous residential areas bordering the watercourse from hydrogeological hazards.

The interventions in detail: the Sarno and its tributaries (Scope 1)

The redevelopment plan will cover the entire river basin in a comprehensive manner, structured into geographical and functional macro-areas.

Area 1 encompasses a dense network of municipalities between the Agro Nocerino-Sarnese and the Vesuvian area: San Marzano sul Sarno, Angri, Scafati, Sant'Antonio Abate, Pompei, Castellammare di Stabia, Torre Annunziata, Nocera Inferiore, and Pagani. In this area, operational priorities include restoring the hydraulic functionality of the Rio Sguazzatorio and the Canale Marna, along with intensive riverbed cleaning, reconstruction of public land, and general hydraulic improvement of the Sarno River (sections I and II).

The works will also include upgrading the river section from the mouth to the Scafati crossing and the confluence with the Nocerino Common Riverbed. Completing the project are the expansion of the Cicalesi Reservoir (First Phase), the repurposing of the Bottaro Canal, and critical dredging and sustainable management of accumulated sediment.

Solofra, Solofrana and Calvagnola (Area 2)

The second macro-intervention (Scope 2) covers the area between Irpinia and the province of Salerno, affecting the municipalities of Solofra, Montoro, Fisciano, Mercato San Severino, Sarno, Nocera Superiore, Nocera Inferiore and Cava de' Tirreni.

In this sector, attention will be focused on the structural upgrading of the Cavaiola stream and the construction or modernization of a comprehensive network of retention basins: from the Pozzello and San Bartolomeo basins in Montoro, to the ASI and Settefichi basins in Fisciano, to the Lavinaio 1 and 2 basins and the Pandola basin in the Mercato San Severino area. Each construction site will also integrate advanced protocols for the reuse and valorization of excavated soil.