Livorno unveils terminal expansion plans

The Italian port of Livorno is expanding its capacity with a new €800 million deepwater container 'platform' that will enable it to accommodate larger ships and growing container traffic.

The 'Europe Platform' project is a global project that will see the rail network improved in order to allow the rapid transit of containers. The new facility will offer a terminal area of 72 hectares, berths of more than 1,000 m and water depth up to 18 m. According to Giuliano Gallanti, president of Livorno Port Authority, the new facility will offer stability and reliability to shipping lines, making the port a flagship in the Mediterranean.

But the project is not without its challenges: an international operator is still to be secured and links to the hinterland need to be improved to provide reliable and frequent freight.

The project is budgeted at €800 million, including port expansion and land reclamation. Since the project is key to increasing both the regional and the national container traffic, the Tuscany Regional Administration and the Italian Government, together with the Port Authority of Livorno, have agreed to invest €450 million.

The remaining amount will be searched in the private sector and, in this regard, talks with terminal operators have already started. In view of the launching of the international tender, planned for the end of September, the Port Authority of Livorno and the Tuscany Region will unveil the details of the project in a conference on September 15th at the Tuscany Region Administration office in Brussels.

Preliminary building work has already started and an EOI for the tender process is expected to be released in September. The new facility is expected to be operational by end 2020.

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