TRIESTE – The Port System Authority of the Northern Adriatic Sea has approved the first System Strategic Planning Document (DPSS), the instrument provided for under the reform of port legislation that defines the development vision for the ports of Venice and Chioggia over the next twenty years and represents the preliminary step towards the drafting of future port master plans.
The adoption of the DPSS by the Management Committee marks a particularly significant step because this is the first document of its kind drawn up by the Port Authority since the introduction of the legislation. The text must now complete the required procedure, with the acquisition of opinions from the municipalities concerned, agreement with the Veneto Region and finally approval by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
The document represents the strategic framework within which the individual port master plans for the system’s ports will subsequently be developed: Venice’s plan is almost 120 years old, Chioggia’s dates back to 1981, and Porto Marghera’s to 1965. The objective is to overcome fragmented planning and build a unified vision for Venice, Chioggia and the other port areas involved, addressing issues such as environmental sustainability, energy transition, digitalisation and logistics development.
The strategy, called “The ports of Veneto: adaptation and innovation”, identifies the multifunctional and multimodal nature of the Veneto port system as one of its distinctive features. For Venice, Marghera’s role as a commercial, logistics and industrial hub is confirmed, while the historic centre retains its vocation linked to small cruises and recreational boating. In Chioggia, by contrast, the specialisation between Isola dei Saloni, mainly dedicated to passenger and tourism activities, and Val da Rio, dedicated to commercial and fishing functions, is strengthened.
Among the most significant elements of the DPSS is the extension of the strategic vision to Porto Levante and Porto Pila as well. In particular, Porto Levante, where the offshore regasification terminal is located, is included in the port planning system with an enhancement of its energy functions. Porto Pila is instead considered for commercial, recreational boating and fishing-related activities.
In the short term, the plan focuses on improving nautical accessibility to the ports of Venice and Chioggia, strengthening last-mile rail and road connections, enhancing port hinterland areas and completing the new cruise configuration in Venice.
In the medium term, a central role is assigned to the development of the Montesyndial area, around 90 hectares intended to become an intermodal logistics platform, and to the energy conversion of industrial and port infrastructure, with particular attention to hydrogen and new energy carriers. Looking further ahead, the DPSS also addresses the issue of the limitations imposed by lagoon accessibility and the MOSE system. In order to maintain the international competitiveness of the port system, the document identifies the need to develop new offshore terminals along the Veneto coast, capable of accommodating large container and cruise ships.
According to the president of the Port Authority, Matteo Gasparato, the document provides a vision aimed at transforming the ports of Venice and Chioggia into innovative, sustainable and digital logistics, industrial and energy hubs, while at the same time strengthening the system’s resilience to climate change and geopolitical scenarios. The next step will be the convening of the Services Conference with the municipalities involved, including Venice, Chioggia, Mira, Cavallino Treporti, Porto Viro, Rosolina and Porto Tolle.
