TRIESTE – There is growing alarm over the timing of port and logistics infrastructure: according to Federagenti, delays are no longer sustainable. Everything is behind schedule, and that is no longer tenable today. Saying so is Federagenti president Paolo Pessina, who is urging people to “tell the truth” about the real completion times of strategic works for Italy’s port system. In a context shaped by rapid changes in the geopolitical landscape and in trade flows, the continued postponement of infrastructure coming into service risks having direct effects on the country’s competitiveness. The warning concerns a large share of Italy’s seaports, where major projects are under way or at the planning stage, not only within the ports themselves but also in the logistics links with industrial areas.
The problem is not new, but according to Pessina it has now taken on a structural character. Between ongoing litigation and contracts lacking effective penalties, delays risk being treated as normal. According to Federagenti, a situation that was once episodic has become chronic, to the point of turning endemic. «I believe the time has come – says Pessina – to carry out a real check-up», not only in relation to PNRR obligations, but above all with regard to the risk of losing credibility in international markets. The reference is to the gap between announced timelines and the actual completion times of works, which could compromise relations with clients and global operators. The issue is not only planning, but the concrete ability to meet deadlines in an increasingly fast-moving competitive environment. For Federagenti, without a change of pace, Italy’s port system risks falling behind հենց while global trade routes and balances are being redrawn.
«It is not yet too late – concludes the president of Federagenti – to address a problem that is all too serious and reveal, not so much to public opinion or institutions (which already know), the extent of the postponements in the entry into service of new works. It is essential not to play with marked cards, by hypothesising late project revisions or betting on the poor memory of those who based their operational and commercial planning on these works. Today, the technique of communicating at the last minute does not pay off; it only causes a loss of traffic and reliability».
