La Spezia Port in partnership with Broström Tankers AB visited New York to showcase their joint private and public investment totaling US$ 381 million. The Port Authority Secretary General told an invited audience “we are committed together with our concessionaries to expand the port and grow the export market share to New York and the USA”. Broström Tankers AB achieved a “9% year-on-year volume growth from 2016 to 2017 for volumes La Spezia Container Terminal and New York”
Today, at the Italian Trade Agency the Secretary General of the Port Authority, Francesco Di Sarcina, and BROSTRÖM Italia’s Group Marketing and Communication Director, Daniele Testi, in the presence of the General Consul of Italy in New York, Minister Francesco Genuardi and the ICE Director in New York and USA ICR network coordinator, Mr. Maurizio Forte, showcased the potential of the La Spezia port call to support its rail connectivity and export growth potential to the USA.
The Port Authority and Broström Tankers AB team, including Peter Hill, Group Business Development Director, Nicolò Marrali, Hannibal S.p.A. Sales Manager and Monica Fiorini, Marketing and Promotion Director of the Port Authority, highlighted to an audience of international operators such as carriers, freight forwarders and importers on the strategic role that ports and intermodal corridors can play within the logistics supply-chain, for increasing the competitiveness of ‘Made in Italy’ products and allowing faster access to markets in Southern Europe. These new gateway corridors can help improve the risk-management within the international supply-chain, offering a viable alternative to the traditional Northern European routes.
“The New York stop was added to the roadmap as it is ranks as the first port in terms of exchange volume with La Spezia, servicing the main production areas of North East and Central Italy served by a network of high-frequency intermodal connections (Milano, Padova, Reggio Emilia, Verona, etc.). Between 2016 and 2017, volumes exchanged between La Spezia and New York have grown by 9% and this trend is continuing for the first eight months of 2018 where import/export volumes reached 43,000 TEUs” – explained Daniele Testi.
“The La Spezia Port is the second gateway in Italy ranked by the number of handled containers, with a rail share in excess of 30%, three times the average of other Italian ports. It is the first port in Italy with a consistent private investment. We have announced an investment totaling US$ 381 million made up of both private and public equity, that will allow the port to expand its area by 25%. Given such investments and with the support of shippers and exporters in Italy we are confident that volumes between both the USA and Canada will benefit from the competitive services not only to Italy, but also to Southern and Central Europe. The next 24 months we will be busy, working with our concessionaries, to grow export volumes to the USA and New York in particular through La Spezia port” added Francesco Di Sarcina.
The new investment is divided in the following way: US$219 million (private equity) plus US$12 million (public equity) for new port infrastructure plus; US$12 million (private equity) and US$87 million (public equity) for new rail tracks, rail infrastructure and roads and finally US$52 million (public equity) covering planned port renewal and dredging activities.
Private and public sectors unite in the mission to promote an integrated intermodal port and transport system, leveraging the “La Spezia System”, made up of operators with the expertise in both the transport and customs sector, which allows the port and the container terminal to position itself among the top performers in international rankings.
The roadshow, which started September 10th also included a meeting with The New York-New Jersey Port Authority and Italy-USA focused trade operators and will continue for the Contship Italia team in Toronto, Canada.
New York, September 12th 2018
