VENICE – A port “to be closed”, according to MPs Luana Zanella (AVS) and Sergio Costa (M5S). One to invest in, instead, says the port community (VPC-Venice Port Community), and one to support, says the Venice Port Authority.
The “stone in the pond” was thrown by the two centre-left MPs, who called for «measures to protect the Venice Lagoon, confirming the ban on the transit of large cruise ships and the construction of landings outside protected waters». We have submitted a joint agenda item to the bill under examination in the Chamber on the enhancement of the sea, also stressing that the functions and powers assigned to the Lagoon Authority must be exercised with the primary aim of achieving the ecological rebalancing of this area, defined as a Special Protection Area by the European Natura 2000 Network».
For the two parliamentarians, the Venice Lagoon is «a transitional ecosystem capable of preserving the largest habitat with a still recognisable primary character in the Veneto region». It cannot be tolerated that this common good of immense richness should be trampled on by the destructive passage of large ships».
VPC brands this view as backward-looking, with president Davide Calderan arguing that such statements are «misleading and dangerous for an economic system that generates 26,000 jobs and 1,400 businesses». To this, the community adds that «planned investments, such as the second “Trezze” island, must pass the EIA, the Environmental Impact Assessment. This means that ministerial technicians assess projects aimed at safeguarding the lagoon, precisely in order to express an opinion on whether or not such works are feasible».
In light of this, according to Calderan, the thinking of the two MPs «shows a lack of respect for thousands of workers who get up every morning, work hard and fully respect the lagoon» and, using a provocation, as regards channel maintenance: «one might as well say that politics should decide that Italians should no longer eat fish, because, as the Chioggia fishermen are pointing out these days, with the silting-up of the channels it is no longer possible for them to practise their profession and put on the tables of our fellow citizens one of the foods most sought after and demanded by the market», concluding with an invitation to the two MPs to visit the port of Venice.
The issue was also addressed by Matteo Gasparato, president of the North Adriatic Sea Port System Authority, who stressed, following the Management Committee meeting, that the opening of a decentralised office in Chioggia had been ratified, along with the launch of the procedure for the development of the megayacht sector: «a high-value sector that Venice, also thanks to the recent agreement on the Arsenale with the Municipality and the Lagoon Authority, has every potential to attract, just as is happening with the high-end cruise segment».
The head of the Authority pointed out that the figures — the administrative surplus stands at 83.2 million euros, with a positive current operating result of 27.5 million euros, equal to 42.35% of current revenues — outline «a strong port system, capable of operating effectively in a complex and evolving international context, at the service of a territory that is dynamic from an economic and industrial standpoint». Indeed, Gasparato stated in a firm position: «Future challenges will require a further strengthening of strategic planning, continuity in infrastructure investment and growing attention to innovation, sustainability and integration into European logistics networks».
There will be no hesitation on maintenance dredging, given that on the investment front the cumulative value allocated to buildings, works and dredging amounts to 18.8 million euros. The resources are directed towards the completion of strategic interventions already under way, including the new railway bridge over the west port channel, dredging and the disposal of sediments from the deep-draught channels in Chioggia, worth more than 7.6 million euros, as well as maintenance and restoration activities for the protection and preservation of the areas along the Malamocco-Marghera channel.
