PORT OF TARANTO, 9/01/2025. The start of the new year marks an important step for the former “Belleli Yard”, a historic industrial area of the Port of Taranto. Last December, in fact, the procedure for awarding the works for the “Permanent safety measures, industrial reconversion, and economic and productive development of the ‘former Belleli Yard’ site in the Port of Taranto”, following the contracting measure was signed by the contracting authority, Sogesid S.p.A., for the net amount of EUR 135,312,133.51, financed from funds from the Apulia Region, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and on the own funds of the Port Authority.
The successful bidder is the Temporary Grouping of Companies (Raggruppamento Temporaneo di Imprese - RTI) established between the company ICM S.P.A. as the parent company and the principals Fincantieri Infrastructure Opere Marittime S.p.A., Eni Rewind S.p.A., Semataf Srl, Fincantieri Infrastructure S.p.A..
With this deed, the objective of a Legally Binding Obligation (OGV) set for 31/12/2024 was achieved, which provided on the one hand for the signing between Sogesid and the successful bidder of the Framework Agreement (which took place on 24/12/2024) and the implementation contract (signed on 27/12/2024) for the assignment of services and works referred to in the first part of the works, thanks to the commitment of Sogesid and in particular of Engineer Errico Stravato and Engineer Enrico Brugiotti.
In 2020, with an agreement worth EUR 45.5 million, the Extraordinary Commissioner of the Port of Taranto, Sergio Prete, commissioned Sogesid, an “in-house providing” engineering company of the Central Administrations of the State, to complete the permanent safety measures for the aquifer in the area located within the Taranto Site of National Interest, right next to the former Ilva lands and close to the fifth overhang of the Ionian port. The intervention was subsequently included in the “programme agreement for the implementation of the integrated project for safety measures, industrial reconversion, and economic and productive development in the Former Belleli Yard area of Taranto”, signed in July 2022. This agreement provided, following the completion of the reclamation of the area, for the settlement of the Ferretti Group. Following the withdrawal by the Ferretti Group, the company Cantieri di Puglia has submitted a request for takeover, which is being evaluated by the signatories of the Programme Agreement.
The project was definitively authorised and approved by Decree no. 209 of 11 September 2023 jointly signed by the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security and the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy. A year after the approval of the project, Sogesid subsequently started the tender procedures that ended with the very recent contracting to the aforementioned RTI.
With the completion of these last acts, it will be possible to immediately start the executive design and, pending the definition of the possible takeover of the Programme Agreement of the new private operator, also the execution of the reclamation and redevelopment works of the areas and their docks, providing the Ionian port with spaces and infrastructures to be used for new production activities. The same areas are, among other things, also included among those candidates for the development of the so-called “Urban Development” hub for offshore wind under assessment by the MASE.
“With the signing of the Framework Agreement, it will finally be possible to start work on the reclamation of a strategic area for the Port of Taranto – said the President of the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea, Sergio Prete – who considers the redevelopment of the former Belleli Yard as a further opportunity for developing a new commercial and industrial hub of particular importance. This project is part of the initiatives launched in the area with the aim of diversifying production activities and stimulating economic and employment growth in favour of the entire Ionian community and the regional and national territory”.
“The project for permanent safety and industrial reconversion, economic and productive development of the former Belleli Yard site in the port of Taranto is ready to start and we are extremely satisfied with this because it is a very important intervention for the port and above all for the city of Taranto – highlighted the president of the Apulia Region, Michele Emiliano -. The reclamation and redevelopment of the former Belleli Yard area represents a first step for providing the port with spaces and infrastructures for the establishment of new production activities that will be able to diversify the Taranto industry and economy with the aim of freeing itself from the monoculture of steel.”