TRIESTE – Two groups have responded to the international tender launched by Interporto Padova to select a partner for the development of its Intermodal Terminal. By the deadline set for today, September 30 at 1 p.m., two major offers had arrived: the first, led by PSA Italy together with Logtainer, and the second submitted by Rail Hub (Contship Group) with Medlog, part of the MSC Group.
PSA, headquartered in Singapore, is one of the world’s leading operators in container terminal and inland rail and logistics infrastructure management, while Logtainer is a consolidated player in Italian intermodality, with strong synergies with shipping lines. Rail Hub Milano, part of the Contship Group, is already a key player in the Italian and European intermodal market, and its partnership with Medlog, linked to MSC, opens up development scenarios aimed at globally integrated logistics chains.
The tender commission, appointed today, is chaired by Interporto Padova’s General Manager Roberto Tosetto and includes representatives of the public shareholders (Chamber of Commerce, Municipality and Province of Padova) as well as Professor Carola Pagliarin of the University of Padova, an expert in public law and contracts. This group will assess the bids based not only on price, but above all on the industrial project and financial strength.
The process leading up to the submission of the two bids was long and complex. After the tender was published on May 30, Interporto made available a Virtual Data Room with over 2,000 initial documents, later expanded with another 300 files and 350 FAQs to clarify every aspect of the project. Six operators completed access by submitting a €300,000 surety bond and signing a confidentiality agreement, while nearly one hundred specialists – including economists, lawyers and engineers – analyzed the available information, for a total of more than one thousand hours of work.
The tender provides for the creation of a new company, Intermodal Terminal Padova Srl, to which the terminal asset will be transferred. Interporto Padova will retain a 30% stake, with statutory safeguards binding the area’s intermodal designation and ensuring the presence of representatives on the Board of Directors and the Board of Statutory Auditors. The bids will be evaluated using detailed criteria: 20 points for the financial offer, 15 for terminal neutrality (i.e. openness to all operators), 40 for the quality of the development project, and 25 for financial strength. The base value for the tender, relating to 70% of the new company, is set at €60 million.
The selection process foresees two months of evaluation, followed by provisional awarding, which will require clearance from the Court of Auditors and the Antitrust Authority. The final conclusion of the operation is expected by spring 2026, once all steps before the public shareholders’ boards have been completed.
“Perhaps it could not have gone better – commented Interporto Padova Chairman Luciano Greco – because we have two consortiums representing the world’s leading operators. The choice to open up to the international market has proved successful. It shows that global groups see Padua as a strategic hub, even for minimum investments of €60 million. This project places us in an international network and confirms the validity of the public-private partnership model we have chosen. We are probably the first in Italy, perhaps in Europe, to launch such an initiative starting from a public inland terminal.”
According to the Chairman, the competition between PSA–Logtainer and Contship–Medlog is also a positive signal for Italy: “We have attracted the attention of operators with great financial solidity and industrial track record, who have understood the neutrality and transparency requirements expressed in recent months by the public shareholders. This result gives us confidence in the future of our terminal and its ability to attract traffic and investment”.
