Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Intesa Sanpaolo e European Investment Bank (EIB) they granted to La Spezia Container Terminal (LSCT, a private company part of the Contship Italia Group) a loan from 160 million with a total duration of 15 years, with the possibility of requesting disbursement until December 2025.
The funds will be used to LSCT extension, leader in the movement of goods and manager of the Ligurian terminal, for the infrastructural development of the Port of La Spezia, to improve theport accessibility strengthening the railway system and to generate positive impacts on employment e on the environment.
The transaction was structured by the Mid-Cap Corporate Finance Department of the IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division of Intesa Sanpaolo (which will also operate as Agent Bank), by CDP and by the EIB.
“It's cause for satisfaction,” he says Andrea Perusin, regional director Piedmont South and Liguria of Intesa Sanpaolo, “to have a primary role in an operation of this caliber. Within the horizon of the PNRR, our Group has made 410 billion euros of funding available to accelerate the country's recovery, digitization and green transition through local businesses, in which we place the utmost trust".
The terminal will reach a total handling capacity of approximately 2 million TEU
In detail, the resources will support the LSCT investment plan - finalized on 29 July 2022 with the Port System Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea - dedicated to the purchase of new latest generation quay cranes, those of the ASC square, and other cranes dedicated to ground service, as well as improving the infrastructure as a whole. The works, explains a joint note, will mainly concern: the construction of a new quay, the construction of an operational square, the works at the Marina del Canaletto, finally, the strengthening of the railway system in the ground movement of goods.
The development of these works will allow the terminal to reach a total capacity di handling of approximately 2 million TEUs and a transfer fee of freight by rail which will increase from the current 33% up to 50%. In this way, the Port of La Spezia will be able to become increasingly central in the Ligurian Sea, where it represents one of the entry points of the main transport corridors connecting central and northern Europe.
The funding “is aimed at supporting astrategic infrastructure for the country and a important node in the Mediterranean. The expansion, rationalization and efficiency improvement works of the terminal, in fact, will be able to increase the competitiveness of the national logistics system as a whole, also thanks to the adoption of cutting-edge automation and electrification solutions, in line with the most modern ports in Northern Europe says a note.
The project is consistent with the CDP Strategic Plan 2022-2024 and follows the intervention priorities identified by the Sectoral Strategic Guidelines relating to Transport and Logistics Hubs.
"The investment plan of La Spezia Container Terminal will lead to the realization of projects with a significant impact in a strategic sector such as the port one" he said Charles Lamari, Head of CDP Infrastructures. “All the works will be carried out on the basis of sustainability and innovation criteria and will make it possible to generate positive effects on the territory in terms of employment and the environment”.
Positive impact on the environment. At regime CO2 halved per Teu handled
Furthermore, the project aims to generate positive impacts on the environment, even considering the significant increase in movements. CO2 emissions per TEU (twenty feet equivalent unit, the unit of measurement for transported by ship) eventful, when fully operational, they will come halved, while the overall ones starting from 2026 will be reduced by about 10%. The investment program is in line with the DNSH principle of not causing significant damage to the environment on the six objectives defined under the European taxonomy system. Positive impacts are also estimated on employment levels both direct and indirect, considering also the induced which will be activated.
“With this operation the EIB – he declared Andrew Clerici, head of the EIB Division for Infrastructure, Energy and Public Sector financing in Italy and Malta – confirms himself as the main lender of Italian ports and, once again, demonstrates his commitment to supporting the economic development and decarbonisation of the port sector, an element essential to allow Italy to remain one of the main European players for maritime transport”.
