Italy: Napa Ports to Define Master Plan for Ports Development

Napa Ports, satisfied with infrastructural objective reached in the European process for the adoption of the new Ten-T and CEF (Connecting Europe Facility), signed recently in Venice the Memorandum of Understanding in order to define a new strategic Master plan for ports’ development. The plan pinpoints infrastructural priority and needs in a common proposal to present to the EU Institutions and Member States.

The first objective is “to exploit the unique historical opportunity to make our voice heard and to be ready to become the core ports network as the European network requires”. The new strategic agenda proposes concrete initiatives with the aim to take advantage of the ongoing debate on the European and national Port Policy to increase port cooperation and Napa services efficiency.

“The possible grow in terms of container market , according estimations from market studies, shall be about three times the present volume of container handled in the North Adriatic Ports, e.g. from 2 to 6 Million TEUs within 2030”, as written in the Memorandum signed on Monday.

“This is to be considered as an achievable target only if the North Adriatic Ports will exploit its full geographic potential, assuming the full coverage of a 300-degree potential market, in a range between 300 and 500 kilometers from the ideal Center of the North Adriatic Sea, from Rome to Sarajevo, via Milan, Lyon, Basel, Monaco, Vienna, Budapest, Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade. The pre-condition needed for this scenario is that the North Adriatic Ports reach an infrastructure and efficiency levels as high as to make it profitable for ocean going vessels to call both at Eastern North Adriatic ports and the Western ones”.

The Memorandum ratifies the sharing and the mutual support of all infrastructural projects of each port.

In order to achieve all these priorities and to strength cooperation, Napa Ports will check constantly all opportunities to participate jointly in European calls, as for its Adriatic Multiport Gateway project co-funded by European Ten-T Agency for the creation of a common ICT ports system.

ENVIRONMENT

With the aim to reduce emissions and contribute to create efficient and sustainable logistic chains, Napa ports will apply for EU grants to address common environmental challenges at NAPA level, within the framework of the “2020 EU Strategy” (e.g. use of alternative fuels and LNG).

 ICT SERVICES

In order to harmonize ports regulations and services, Napa Ports will continue to study and create new ICT solutions, as done in the recent past for the ITS Multiport Gateway Project. The goal is to create a useful network and a single gateway to enter in Europe from South: “Napa ports are four dock of one port”.

 STUDIES

NAPA members will promote common proposals also to apply for EU grants, in order to carry out different studies and scientific analyses on the key issues in the NAPA ports’ development and organizational framework, in order to improve the competitive position of each port and NAPA association within the European logistics.

This strategic objective has been made even more feasible with the support of the European infrastructure policy that by reviewing and redesigning the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) has foreseen the deployment of the Core Network Corridors (CNC) Baltic-Adriatic and Mediterranean by 2030.

Following new studies and tendencies, Napa ports will jointly support and sponsor NAPA to potential markets, so to exploit the full potential of being recognized by international shippers and logistic operators as a valid southern multiport gateway to/from European markets; and follow-up studies on competitive markets for the North Adriatic gateway.

Finally Napa Assembly informed that the Ten-T agency co-funded the NAPADRAG project, presented by Venice and Koper, with 1.2 million euros (532.000 euros for the port of Venice) in order to implement nautical accessibility of the two ports.

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Ports of Napa, December 19, 2013