The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide €300m financing for the Italian seaport, which will use the funds to construct a new breakwater, restore quays, upgrade rail infrastructure, and invest in cold ironing.

The Port Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea, which manages the Port of Genoa, has secured €600m, including half a billion from the Recovery and Resilience Facility Complementary Fund and €100m from the Port Infrastructure Fund.

The various works, among others upgrading the FuoriMuro railway network with 750 m of tracks, are expected to start in 2022 and end in two years. The breakwater will be ready in 2026.

"We are proud to support the infrastructure and environmental development of the Port of Genoa, a key economic, export and tourism hub for Italy. One of the EIB's main objectives is to invest in infrastructure promoting connectivity and environmental sustainability as tools to strengthen resilience and economic competitiveness and to assert European strategic positioning globally," Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Vice-President, said.

Paolo Emilio Signorini, the Port Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea's President, added, "We are very proud of [the] signature, which demonstrates how involved the EU bank is in the development of Italy's premier port in the European core network, and the strategic value of the new Genoa breakwater for the development of the port logistics system in a spirit of safety and sustainability. The planning structure and technical, financial and permit planning for the work is unprecedented in its thoroughness and analytical nature - we're proud of this, too."

Photo: Port of Genoa