New container hub to transform the Port of Palermo

The Institute for Political, Social and Economic Studies (Eurispes) in Italy presented a project to build a container hub in the Port of Palermo, which will be able to handle 16 million containers annually.

The construction of the Hub port aims to make Palermo into the most important port in southern Europe, capable of handling 16 million containers a year, compared to 5 of the port of Valencia, the 3 million that of Gioia Tauro and about 2 million of the ports of Barcelona and Genoa.

The hub, which will cost about 5 billion euro, when fully operational, would give work to 435 thousand people, and could be financed mainly with private capital. It is expected to start operations in three years from the issue of authorizations.

The port area will basically be a platform connected to the coast at the height of the Bandita, creating a bay of about 300 meters wide and three kilometers long, for water sports and with 200 places for pleasure boats in transit.

Along the bay a large beach, partly free and partly equipped is expected, which will include outdoor sports facilities for 10 hectares, an urban park on the sea and plenty of space for leisure with dining options and shops.

The port, which has 9 km of docks and a square of about 200 hectares is a port-canal with a north-west entrance and exit to the south-east and is directly connected to a 100-hectare port. It has a depth ranging from 18.5 to 27 meters and is equipped with all services.

President of Eurispes, Gian Maria Fara, stated:

"The construction of this infrastructure is inextricably linked with the redevelopment of the south-eastern coast of Palermo, which has been abandoned for years. The project, which would allow the fruition and bathing of large stretches of coastline, would also restore the view of the sea to that part of town."