The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced that it will advance a €300m framework loan to finance upgrading work on the port of Genoa.
The money, which will go to the Port Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea, was announced before the 2018 collapse of the Morandi Bridge, but is now considered “even more necessary and urgent”, according to the EIB.
The money will supplement €600m already allocated, €500m from the Recovery and Resilience Facility Complementary Fund and €100m from the Port Infrastructure Fund, which will be spent on a new Genoa breakwater wall.
The combined loans will reduce the risk of flooding and allow modern cargo ships to access the port.
Some 750m of track for the FuoriMuro railway network will also be upgraded, quays will be refurbished and shore-to-ship electrical connections will be modernised.
Work on the project is due to begin in 2022 and be completed in 2024. The breakwater work is due to be finished by 2026.
