The EU commission has approved of the project for the potenziamento of the commercial port of Augusta



The Harbour Authority of Augusta has received monday slid from the ministry of Infrastructures and of the Transports the decision with which the EU commission it approves of the great project "Potenziamento of the Commercial Port of Augusta" takes part of the operating program "Nets and Mobility 2007-2013" for the structural assistance of the European Fund for Regional Development to the aims of the objective "Convergence" in Italy. The card of the project was introduced by the Harbour Authority of Augusta the ministry of Infrastructures on November 16, 2010 and, after an internal appraisal, it was forwarded in February 2011 to the Regional EU commission that the preliminary investigation had opened in order to define of admissibility and level of co-financing that as soon as has been concluded.

The Sicilian Harbour Authority has announced that four integrations are demanded in order to verify the coherence of the project with the programs and the European policies, in particular in matter of aids of State that, for the first time, is applied in Europe to a harbour infrastructure. Moreover the harbour agency has specified that, on the base of the value estimated in the appropriate financial analysis of the card "Great Project", second rimodulato the new strategies adopted from the Harbour Authority together with the ministries of the economic Development and of Infrastructures and Transports, the turning out amount has been of 100 million euros that represent therefore the maximum permissible public co-financing in matter of aids of Been about to this project, while the residual difference of 45,33 million euros is at the expense of the Harbour Authority that has already constituted a bottom in such sense.

"The project so rimodulato, exceeded all the phases of admissibility is to the Regal DG is to the DG Competition - it has explained the Harbour Authority - will allow to restructure existing infrastructures and to realize some of new in order to assign them helter-skelter to the traffic of goods, activity ro-ro and ro-pax tied to the Freeways of the Sea and to accommodate also container traffic, second the modern requirements, with the modalities sea-sea and sea-earth via railroad and road".

The main participations will consist in the expansion of the ulterior large squares of 82,000 square metres to use for storage of goods solid and container for an amount of 28,3 million euros; in the structural adaptation of 150 linear meters of the existing docks and attrezzaggio with crane to portal for the berthing of portacontainer for an amount total of 38,7 million euros; in the realization of a new dock of beyond 350 meters extensible to 500 meters with behind a new large square of about 120.000 square metres for an amount total of 77,83 million euros.

The harbour agency has remembered that "thanks to such participations, the port of Augusta, from years primary oil port to the service of the industrial zone, by some month it is inserted as node of the net IT TRY with the objective to develop also to the intermodal transports towards the Sicily and the national territory.

"I express satisfaction - the president of the Harbour Authority of Augusta has declared, Aldo Garozzo - for the reached result, yield of intense job and of bound strategic elaboration to I use it of new infrastructures followed through with the collaboration of politics and the regional, national and European institutions. Online with the new indications received also from the EU commissions it has been passed in fact from the vision of a port of transhipment that is sea-sea to a strategic mink more tied to the territory, becoming central point of a riconducibile immense area to a territorial system of the area of the south-east of the Sicily, as wide described in the course of the reunion of coordination near the Department for the Development and the Economic Cohesion for the location and the promotion of the Macro Region, in sight of an effective use of deep communitarian 2014-2020. In fact in the reunion on March 22, 2013 - Garozzo has explained - it has been convene on the riconducibilità of the portualità to the topic of the development of the nets IT TRY, giving to priority to the development and interconnections between the ports of the area, the programming of sinergiche actions and the realization of participations aimed at possible integrations and specialization of the harbour structures. Under such aspect the Harbour Authority of Augusta has been antesignana reaching the signature of a protocol of understanding with the Harbour Authority of Catania, the Interporto of Catania, the Sicilian Region and the MITT, while the proposal of increase of own administrative division until Saint Panagia - it has specified - probably does not find answer by the town council of Syracuse not comprising of the great advantages that would derive some in order to become a member the governor of an immense area that has always had great importance in the development of the marine activities of the territory with horizons increased to international level. In fact the centrality is certain on the exchanges that they always give has had the part of the Sicily south oriental as a great "square" with a hinge role East-West South-North and".

"Just in order to draw conclusions on the infrastructuring work - Garozzo has still explained - these will take the way within time little, and with the levelling of the backdrops already realized, the port will be still more suitable also to the activities of transhipment. , To work practically ended, the port will have of large squares for about a million square metres, docks for beyond 2.000 linear meters and the possibility of mooring of ships with draught until 16.5 meters not being able in this part of the port to take advantage of the great potentialities of its backdrops realized in the years for the supertankers that arrive until 20 meters, somewhat advanced draughts to those demanded. The future characteristics of the port will be however suitable in order to receive beyond 85% of the ships that today furrow the Mediterranean".