Venice and Chioggia Ports: President of the PSA appointed Special Commissioner for the construction of temporary moorings and associated interventions for the protection of Venice and its lagoon with decree law 103 of 20 July 2021
Fulvio Lino Di Blasio: “We will face this critical phase, for many, an emergency, with the aim of working in close synergy with the ministerial and territorial bodies, guarantors of the implementation of the projects and the release of resources”
Venice 21 July 2021 -
“I welcome this appointment with a great sense of responsibility, to regulate a matter that has been the subject of heated debate for years: I will ensure that the provisions of the decree are implemented in the direction of protecting our territorial economic fabric and the port community, which must be supported at this extremely difficult time - just as the total lockdown due to the pandemic was being lifted. As far as we are concerned, it is time to work hard to better manage the start-up phase with the aim of building solid governance, a defined roadmap and a clear timetable. We confront this enormous challenge in the knowledge of having to make decisions which support both of Venice’s most important sectors: the cruise and commercial industrial sectors. In this sense it will be of great help, as Special Commissioner, to be able to make use of the “unblock construction sites” rule, in such a way as to operate along the lines of the so-called Genoa model in order to be able to optimally manage times and methods of implementation”.
Thus the President of the Port System Authority of Venice and Chioggia Fulvio Lino Di Blasio stated in the publication of the Official Gazette about the administrative order of 20 July 2021 number 103 with which he was appointed Special Commissioner for the realization of temporary moorings and associated interventions for the safeguarding of Venice and its Lagoon.
While waiting for the order to take its course, the Special Commissioner is already taking steps to define the governance of the activities, focusing primarily on the method of working that will be developed by sharing and listening to all of the operators and institutions involved.
“I will have at my disposal” - the Special Commissioner continues - “financial resources for the activities and works to be carried out. We will work as required by law for the construction of temporary mooring points, maintenance of existing canals, ancillary interventions for improving nautical accessibility and navigational safety. The definition of the time schedule represents, in fact, one of the most important implementation steps linked to the order and, once identified, will allow us to receive the funding to start the works ”.
From a technical procedural point of view, the Admin. Order enters into force today and will be examined by the committees in the Chamber and Senate for the parliamentary process, to then be converted into law within 60 days, subject to changes.
The admin. order provides for a total of € 222 million for works and renovations between now and 2026, which will be disbursed through future activating orders, already provided for by the current order: in fact, only for 2021 it has established that €30 million will be allocated to the companies that had already planned to begin in Venice before 1 August and are now forced to reschedule their activities and complex seasonal calendars with evident serious additional costs; then 5 million euros to VPT(Venice Passenger Terminal) and a further 5 million euros to workers in the supply chain through the Employment Fund in addition to the aid that was already provided for by the support order and the support order bis.
As for the VPT concessionaire, the order also allows the PSA to proceed with the reduction, rateal payment or rescheduling of the concession fee.
“We will tackle this critical, for many, emergency phase, with the aim of working in close synergy with the ministerial and territorial bodies while at the same time supporting all the affected categories. We are therefore, called to an important test, for which we are preparing because our objective is, and will be, to continue to guarantee the centrality of Venice and the primary role in the local, national and international system, being very clear that we must operate in compliance with principles of sustainability”.