The AI SMART project – Adriatic Ionian SMAll poRT network – is funded by the Interreg V-A Greece-Italy 2014-2020 Program, a European territorial cooperation program aimed at assisting public institutions and local stakeholders in developing cross-border projects and pilot actions, as well as creating new policies, products, and services, with the ultimate goal of improving citizens' quality of life. Strategically, the Program will strengthen innovation in various sectors such as blue growth, tourism and culture, agri-food, and cultural and creative industries.
AI SMART falls under Priority Axis 3 – Multimodal Sustainable Transport System, which aims to develop a sustainable transport system for regional and cross-border connections within the Program area, including inland waterways, maritime transport, ports, multimodal links, and airport infrastructures.
The AI SMART project aims to develop a common port network in the Adriatic-Ionian area based on the concept of "intelligent, green, and integrated ports," enabling the creation of new green routes and connecting the small regional ports of the involved cross-border countries into a single "green corridor". The project promotes the potential of short-range maritime routes as an integral and complementary part of the TEN-T intermodal corridors, for a sustainable and inclusive transport service, in line with the objectives of the European 2030 Strategy for smart growth based on the enhancement of natural and landscape resources along coasts and inland areas.
The AI SMART project involves four partners, one in Italy and three in Greece:
- Apulia Region – Department of Mobility (Italy)
- Western Greece Region (Greece)
- Ionian Islands Region (Greece)
- Epirus Region (Greece)
The total project budget is €17,250,000 of which €8,710,000 is allocated to the Apulia Region.
The Port Network Authority of Ionian Sea benefited – through a cooperation agreement with the Apulia Region – from a funding amount of €1,097,199.31.
The project concluded on December 31, 2023.