The intervention will enhance the operational capacity of the port and adapt the berths to the standards required by modern naval units.
The Port System Authority of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, chaired by President Paolo Piacenza, has published the tender notice for the assignment of the renovation works of the Ro-Ro quays in section E and the construction of the new quay wall behind the second Ro-Ro berth.
The work will enhance the operational capacity of the port and adapt the berths to the standards required by modern Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax naval units, strengthening the competitiveness of Gioia Tauro as a reference logistics platform in the Mediterranean. The redevelopment of the Ro-Ro quays will make the infrastructure dedicated to rolling traffic more efficient and functional, increasing the safety of operations and the port’s ability to respond to growing market demands.
The intervention is necessary to overcome the current dimensional limits of the existing berthing ramps, currently 25 meters long and no longer fully meeting the characteristics of new-generation ships. The project in fact provides for the extension of the three ramps to a length of 35 meters, with the aim of optimizing vehicle boarding and disembarkation operations and improving the efficiency of loading and unloading activities.
In addition to the redevelopment of the existing berths, the intervention also includes the construction of a new berthing pier consisting of an open-pile quay equipped with a 35-meter ramp, designed to ensure full operability of the berths intended for latest-generation Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax traffic, increasing the total number of berths capable of accommodating ships with a stern ramp.
Valued at 5,615,655 euros, the works will last 210 days. The investment also assumes strategic importance within the broader process of functional specialization of port areas, helping to consolidate the distinction between sectors dedicated to container traffic and those intended for the automotive sector. A planning choice that will allow supporting the growth of Ro-Ro traffic, sustained both by the increase in connections with North Africa regarding the terminal operator MedCenter Container Terminal and by the progressive development of the international automotive sector managed by Automar Spa.
The growth recorded in the traffic of cars from major foreign markets, including Jeddah, is particularly significant, confirming the growing attractiveness of the port of Gioia Tauro as a specialized logistics hub for the automotive sector in the Mediterranean basin.
