The port of Genoa is the country’s leader in terms of cargo handling: in fact, it handles 10% of the goods unloaded/loaded in all Italian ports.

The port of Genoa is a multipurpose and multifunctional port with a wide range of different activities. The Genoese port is Italy’s leading traffic handler and plays a major role in all the main commercial sectors. It is also the site of one of Italy’s largest industrial port centres.

Additional proof of the port of Genoa’s importance as a fundamental gateway for the country’s production system comes from a comparison with the main Italian mountain routes. In 2003, the port of Genoa handled a much higher quantity of goods than Brennero, Italy’s main mountain transit point. In addition, the port of Genoa not only handles very different types of goods, but it also has a much greater impact on the territory.

With an estimated 60,000 employees, the port of Genoa “company” is the province’s main source of employment.

The Port of Genoa extends 20 kilometres along the coast from the Old Harbour basin, at the city’s historic centre, to its far western end.

The port can handle any type and tonnage of ship as well as all kinds and size of dry and liquid goods, thanks to the services of 13 terminals.

The Ferry and Cruise terminals within the city’s old harbour basin completes the range of services offered by the Port of Genoa at all levels.

Port infrastructures extend over approximately seven million square metres which can be accessed through various gateways with connections to the main traffic routes.

From one end to the other, Genoa extends about thirty kilometres along the coastline nestled between the uppermost part of the Ligurian Gulf and the surrounding Apennine mountains. The port infrastructures run continuously for almost 20 kilometres, starting from the city’s old centre to its extreme western end. Vehicle entry to these facilities is quite efficient thanks to the numerous links to the city and motorway traffic systems (to the west, towards the French coast [A10], to the north and the Po Valley [A7 and A26] and to the east along the Tyrrhenian coast of central Italy [A12]), providing access to the various terminals and storage depots directly from the inland urban network.

The proximity to the Cristoforo Colombo airport, located on a man-made peninsula constructed through sea fill-ins in the immediate vicinity of the oil port, along with the city’s two main railway stations, Genova Brignole serving the eastern side and Genvoa Principe the west, make the port of Genoa easy to access for visitors arriving by plane or train.

Today, the Port of Genoa covers a total area of about 7 million square metres and extends 20 kilometres along the coastline, protected by breakwaters, starting from the water expanse of the Old Harbour, at the city’s historical centre, all the way to Voltri to the west.

Through the development of 13 terminals linked to the road and railway networks and actively involved in managing all logistics activities, the Port of Genoa, thanks to its specific structural features and specialised port services, can load/unload all kinds and sizes of containerised and non-containerised dry and liquid bulk, for ships of any type and tonnage. Today, these infrastructures, along with the efficient coordination and management of various activities, make Genoa one of the Mediterranean’s leading cargo ports.

The container market is the driving force behind the traffic trends in the Port of Genoa as far as import and export handling operations are concerned. As a result, it is considered one of the Mediterranean’s most important ports, excluding those involved mainly with transhipment operations.

As the natural destination of maritime carriers transporting cargo to and from South Europe, the Port of Genoa, thanks to its strategic position, plays a major role within the intercontinental network that, through the Mediterranean, links the European markets to North and South America and to the Orient.

The growth in the conventional cargo sector was also the result of the difficult reorganisation of important dedicated areas, the consolidation of specialised terminals and the creation of new liner services to transport rolling stock by sea in the European community and within the Mediterranean basin.

The Port of Genoa is rapidly acquiring the reputation of being the leading Italian port for handling dusty and non-dusty black or white bulk, as well as non-bulk iron and steel products.

With easy access to the industrial heart of the northern part of the country, Genoa can serve those customers that require regular supplies of raw materials, such as coal for cement factories - which can be loaded directly on trains at the San Giorgio pier - and chemical products for sector multinationals.

These factors allow Genoa to be considered the logical alternative to the north European ports.

The facilities operating inside the liquid bulk terminals are used to unload, load and handle and to provide coastal storage for various types of animal, vegetal and mineral liquid bulk products for the food, chemical and industrial market in general.

The rapidly expanding intermodal network linking the Port of Genoa’s infrastructures to south Europe distributes these goods rapidly and efficiently within the destination industrial system, in accordance with the various logistic and supply needs.

Visiting Genoa’s Old Harbour area, where the new passenger terminals are located, means having the opportunity to discover both the old and modern heart of a city that perhaps more than any other in Italy has, over the centuries, left its mark on the country’s seafaring history, merchant traffic development and related economic aspects.

Combining a proud maritime tradition with an extensively renovated waterfront, for which the Maritime Station is one of the most spectacular testimonials, Genoa and its port are taking all the necessary steps to welcome the large influx of visitors expected to visit the city during the Genoa 2004 European Capital of Culture, an event that will further strengthen the city’s role as an important and historic commercial and touristic crossroads.

“Genova Crociere” was created in 1998 to increase the flow of passengers and the positive repercussions on both the city and the territory, going international in 2002 with the presentation of its new Genova Crociere and Portofino logo. The initiative, under the direction of the Port Authority of Genoa, presently comprises 22 participants including the institutions, organisations and economic operators interested in this tourism sector, working together to create a complete and combined image of the city, port and territory. One of the many activities, “Genova Crociere” offers a welcome service for transiting ships and passengers, creating interesting tourism offers aimed at an increasingly specialised and continuously evolving market.

The Sistemi e Telematica (SeT) company was founded in 1985 to meet the growing demand to develop computerised and telematic systems in the Port of Genoa where, from the beginning, it has provided organisation and design engineering consulting services with a focus on telecommunications, IT and automation activities for the maritime transport sector.

The opportunity to operate within a major port system has allowed SeT to consolidate its extensive experience, utilising the port of Genoa as a laboratory becoming the reference supplier not only for IT services but also for automation and operating control systems, telecommunication services and EDI.

Based on its Genoese experience, the company has emerged as the country’s leader, having developed projects in other Italian ports. In fact, today, SeT meets the international challenge head on, focusing in particular on the Mediterranean basin, East Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

To ensure that its services keep pace with the most advanced technological standards, the company has established a research and development group consisting of highly-qualified technicians who monitor emerging market technologies, evaluating and integrating them into the developed systems.

In the EDI sector in particular, SeT actively contributes to the definition of international standards as a permanent member of the MD2 Group in the European Board for EDIFACT Standard (EBES).

All phases of the production process, from design engineering to final installation and after-sales assistance to the customer, are controlled by an ISO-9001 certified quality system, the strictest of the quality system international standards.

The Cargo Community System is a community system that manages the high-speed data and information transfers between computerised systems of interested operators, while also guaranteeing the independence, security and confidentiality of the various systems.

The Port Authority of Genoa promotes the development of this communication tool for Genoese operators to enhance operating efficiency and to help increase traffic in the Genoese port.

Basically, the Genoese CCS consists of:

• a central system for telematic document sorting;
• a set of data processing services for the supply of added value services;
• a databank updated with information obtained from users, after explicit authorisation.

The central system, i.e. the overall interoperational network between transport chain operators, is managed by a central structure that provides clearing house services. In other words, an EDI service centre that validates and records the transactions (message exchange) between users, manages added value services and monitors the network to acquire statistics and carry out invoicing operations.

One of the distinctive features of the port of Genoa, owing to the multiplicity of traffic handled on a daily basis, is its extensive port community. Although the operators within such a community play many different roles as a result of the wide range of activities, they are all still united by a common interest: port development.

These players can be divided into four macro-areas based on the activities carried out:

• Institutional entities and services, with planning and control tasks.
• Ship phase operators, carrying out activities involving ship arrival/departure and layover in the port.
• Cargo phase operators, are involved with cargo handling/storage activities. In the port area operating model, terminals are managed by private concessionaires. They can utilise the services of port companies which, through guaranteed professional expertise and flexibility, enhance the port’s operating system.
• Internal transport operators, actively involved in transfer operations to and from the port area.
• Industrial operatorsinvolved with shipbuilding and repairs.
• Airport operators.
• Boating operators.

Thanks to the liner services provided by the most important international shipping companies, the port of Genoa offers liner connections to more than 120 countries in all 5 continents.

Historically, the number and variety of connections are a good indicator of the competitiveness of a port and its hinterland. This indicator becomes even more significant considering the important global changes that have taken place in the make-up of raw material production, conversion and consumption areas that, by redesigning and rationalizing the logistic networks (e.g. hubs and spokes), create real entry barriers among those who can and cannot access the logistic network. Hence, the port of Genoa, thanks also to the fact that the Mediterranean has once again become the focal point for economic and trade flow management, represents a potential gateway for the entire production system in north Italy.

It should be emphasised that the large number of active connections in the port of Genoa is a real asset in terms of quantity (number of countries linked) and quality, thanks to the variety of goods handled (containerised traffic, miscellaneous cargo, bulk, specialised traffic, etc.).

Consistent with this port development vision, the Port Authority is actively involved in numerous projects that encompass all the areas under its jurisdiction. For the purpose of this analysis, these projects have been divided into four homogeneous groups.

Considering traffic development forecasts, the increasingly greater concentration of operators and, as a consequence, their contractual influence, and the increasing size of ships, the Port Authority must make investments on a constant basis to upgrade infrastructures and spaces to meet operator and market requirements.

While the Authority is actively involved in short-term planning, developing works that are both in progress and planned, it is also looking toward the future, having created a new design vision for the port of Genoa.

As already mentioned, to remain competitive, the port of Genoa must grow in terms of available spaces. This requirement must be considered in relation to the needs of the city that has successfully invested in its own resurgence and for which some of its main attractions are located in the spaces it received from the port (e.g. Old Harbour, Fairgrounds area, Ponte Parodi).

• Railway infrastructures. The development of a modern port must also be based on an adequate network of railway connections through which to exchange goods with inland logistics platforms and with the reference territory. Within the Port Master Plan (PMP 1999) the railway must play a central role to support the port of Genoa’s foreseen traffic growth. Considering the port’s location with respect to the city, the development of the railway district is the outlet needed to guarantee such growth. Currently, railway cars are used for 22% of all the traffic handled in the Genoese port. The market is represented mainly by national origins/destinations (96%) and is concentrated in the central-northern regions.
• Motorway infrastructures. The road-based cargo shipping and receiving system in the port of Genoa is a constraint with regard to the efficiency of port operations, and has a significant effect on the city traffic system as well. The solution for decongesting the Genoese node is the so-called “gronda di Ponente” (western corridor) project. This route not only will link the A26 motorway to the A7 between Voltri and Bolzaneto, but it will also provide access to the Genoa airport. The projected cost of this 28-km corridor, that includes 20 km of tunnels, is approximately € 2 billion, a major portion of which will be financed by Autostrade S.p.A.
• Vehicle parking area. To rationalize the flows of trucks transporting cargo to and from the port, and consistent with the development objectives of the intermodal and logistics functions, the Port Authority has developed strategies to intensify the road haulage services which are currently located in the areas of Genova Campi and Fegino.

The Port Authority of Genoa is also investing in important development projects with the objective of improving the operative organisational aspects of the entire port community.

Improving port safety is one of the Authority’s priority objectives for which it must monitor and ensure preventive control concerning compliance with health standards, on-the-job safety and current port regulations.

The Authority, along with operators and union organisations, intends on taking concrete action to deal with the problem of port labour organisation, for the purpose of:

• identifying risks in order to propose solutions and operating procedures suitable to operate under safe conditions;
• developing, based on inspections and accident data, a map outlining the risks and particularly dangerous activities.
  A particularly important safety management development project puts the focus on hazardous goods for which the relative trade operations are increasingly utilising the maritime transport mode. The project intends on:
• performing real-time monitoring of stocks and transits in the port of Genoa (quantity, location, type of goods) and risk evaluation.
• ensuring that the port has adequate storage areas and infrastructures to ensure proper handling and development of hazardous goods.

One of the strategic objectives of the Port Authority, which recently certified its Environmental Management System (UNI EN ISO 14001), is to integrate the environment variable into the port production cycle. Numerous development projects have begun aimed at improving the port of Genoa’s environmental performance through direct involvement in activities controlled by the Authority (e.g. waste collection, dredging, sewers, illumination, etc.) and by informing and motivating operators about issues under their sphere of influence (terminal operator activities, road and railway traffic, etc.).

To stand up to global competition and to share specific choices at a local level, it is increasingly important to carry out marketing and communication initiatives that support the image of the Ligurian port at a local, national and international level and that contribute to the growth in port traffic.

The Authority promotes the port of Genoa both individually and through the Association of Ligurian Ports, that encompasses the ports of Genoa, Savona and La Spezia. The purpose is to offer, at a global level, an image of three ports that are territorially strategic with respect to the European market and capable of satisfying all the various needs of maritime operators.

A development issue, related to port activities, is training, which aims at:

• integrating the system of Ligurian ports and contributing to their common growth through cooperation among the players (understood as Authority and operators) within the individual port communities;
• comparing the system of Ligurian ports with the Mediterranean and international system and market ;
• testing and transmitting specialised know-how and “returning” innovative continuous training methodologies and contents to the port communities.

Today, a port’s competitiveness is increasingly affected by the availability of integrated logistics services. Such services require extensive spaces to create inland logistic platforms (Dry Ports) through which to expand the reference territory thanks to efficient connections and the supply of specialised services.

Therefore, there are significant constraints in Genoa and, more generally, in Liguria, for hosting this type of infrastructure:

• lack of adequate spaces and, as a consequence, their high cost;
• the city’s growing need for additional spaces.

Through the recent (July 2005) program agreements between the Ministry of Production Activities, local institutions, the Riva Group and the unions involving the abandonment of the hot-processing area of Cornigliano, about 144,000 m² will be set aside to construct a Distripark for which € 70 million has already been allocated.

However, the port of Genoa requires much more extensive inland port areas, a figure that is estimated to be several million m².

Hence, the natural outlet for this type of activity is the areas beyond the Apennines which would be an excellent inland port for the Genoese harbour for various reasons, including:

• presence of large production and consumption areas: Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna represent, overall, about 70% of the reference market for the port of Genoa;
• existence of a set of often specialised logistics centres that are already operative and functional to the port of Genoa’s traffic flows;
• availability of abandoned areas seeking other production designations.

The Port Authority intends on developing relations with and fostering the growth of numerous logistics platforms capable of rationalizing the flows of imports and exports. It is the latter type of flow that will provide ship owner companies with the incentive to call on a port.

In this way, it will be possible to create a network of specialised platforms in goods chains, reference territories or specific logistic operations through which single operators can choose the most adequate structure for their needs and thus optimise wharf productivity.

Thus, the objective is to ensure the port of Genoa’s growth as the leading port in the Mediterranean, increasing the supply of logistics services, and optimising internal productivity by utilising external production capacities.

It’s important to point out that the development of a network of dry ports in the outlying northwestern regions is not an alternative to the sea side development of the port of Genoa. Instead, the two ideas, taking into account the different development times, represent a single growth opportunity for the port of Genoa.