EIB grants €90 million to Livorno Port for sustainability expansion

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has inked a €90 million ($98 million) financing deal in Livorno, Italy to assist the modernisation and extension of the Port of Livorno.

The goal of this financing deal is to help to boost productivity, safety, and environmental sustainability at the Port of Livorno.

The deal was signed by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti, President of Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mar Tirreno Settentrionale Luciiano Guerrieri, President of the Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani, Mayor of Livorno Luca Salvetti, and Commander of Port of Livorno Gaetano Angora.

The funds made available by the EIB to expand the Port of Livorno, which is part of the TEN-T network’s Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor, will be used to build the Darsena Europa container terminal, a strategic project to accommodate ships already in international traffic, ensuring the Port of Livorno’s competitiveness and navigation safety.

In concrete terms, the principal operations are the building of new breakwaters and accompanying dredging activities, the establishment of a sediment containment area from dredging, and the construction of a new access channel to the port’s terminals.

According to EIB, these infrastructure improvements will not only improve the port’s efficiency and safety, but will also make it more resilient to potential future climate catastrophes like sea level rise.

They will also assist to increase the stability of the shoreline by constructing a sand pipeline that will be utilised to replenish the sandy coast directly north of the Arno River’s floodway.

This investment reportedly brings the EIB’s overall assistance for Italian ports to almost €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion).

EIB Vice-President, Gelsomina Vigliotti, said: “The financing announced today will help make the Port of Livorno a leading-edge hub of reference in the Mediterranean, improving its infrastructure, increasing its operational capacity, and promoting technological innovation and environmental sustainability in the port sector.”

President of Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mar Tirreno Settentrionale, Luciano Guerrieri, stated: “This agreement not only demonstrates how involved the leading EU financial institution is in the development of the Tuscan port but also indicates the strategic value of the Darsena Europa project, which the government and the Tuscany Region have acknowledged by giving full political and financial support to its implementation.”

In February, NatPower H, a company of the NatPower group, announced a €100 million ($108 million) green hydrogen refuelling infrastructure for recreational boating in Italy.