TRIESTE – The Council of Ministers has approved a first draft of the bill to reform Italy’s port system. The text updates Law 84/1994 and starts the process that will take the measure to Parliament for examination.
The reform targets governance and the management tools used across ports. It introduces a national steering role for strategic investments, while leaving Port System Authorities with operational responsibilities on the ground. Among the long-standing critical issues addressed are dredging and concessions.
The most significant element of the reform is the creation of Porti d’Italia Spa, a fully state-owned company. This is not a new regulator, nor a body that directly manages ports.
According to the draft bill, Porti d’Italia Spa would be tasked with national strategic investments. In practical terms, it should design, finance, and deliver major infrastructure works common to the port system—such as quays, seabed depths, maritime access channels, and logistics connections of national scale. The stated goal is to overcome today’s fragmentation and ensure a single, coherent approach to the most important interventions.
Port System Authorities remain operational. They continue to handle concessions, state-owned maritime property, routine maintenance, safety, and relations with operators. They are therefore not abolished, but complemented by a central structure that steps in only on major infrastructure choices and investments deemed strategic.
Among the supportive views is Conftrasporto. The association considers the start of the reform process positive and stresses the need to update a framework seen as no longer fit for today’s economic and geopolitical context. It also points to the need for a stable, structured dialogue with operators and trade associations to reach a truly effective text. The position was voiced by president Pasquale Russo, who is also vice-president of Confcommercio.
Positive assessments—though with different emphases—also come from some companies and observers in the logistics sector, who see the reform as a potential tool to speed up decisions and investments and strengthen the competitiveness of Italian ports in the Mediterranean.
On the other side, criticism is not lacking. Opposition parties describe the framework as overly centralized, with the risk of reducing the autonomy of Port System Authorities and adding yet another decision-making layer. The promised procedural simplification is also questioned, with concerns about increased administrative complexity.
Doubts also come from some local stakeholders and parts of the port community, who are asking for greater clarity on how the new national entity will relate to local Authorities, as well as guarantees on ports’ operational continuity.
The debate now moves to Parliament, where the text can be amended. The discussion between supporters and critics is expected to intensify in the coming weeks, while the sector waits to see whether the first draft can become a shared, stable reform.
The bill outline (source: Ministry of Transport):
