China contributes to Italian port construction for win-win results
By Ye Qi and Han Shuo from
People’s Daily
Chinese company COSCO SHIPPING Ports
Limited is contributing efforts to the construction of an Italian port, lifting
capacity for the terminal and creating win-win results, as China’s Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI) continues expanding its global influence.
The Port of Vado Ligure, 140
kilometers away from Italy’s industrial powerhouse Turin and 190 kilometers
away from Milan, enjoys ideal geographical location. It is of vital importance
for the economic development of northern Italy.
In October, 2016, the COSCO SHIPPING
Ports Limited officially joined the construction and operation of a new
container terminal at the Port of Vado Ligure,
after reaching an agreement with Vado Holding B.V.
The terminal, upon completion,
will become Italy’s first automated container terminal, and also the first one
built in the recent three decades in the country.
Currently, the construction of
the container terminal is in full swing. Gantry cranes and quay cranes have
been installed and started operation, and the bridge cranes are also ready for
use.
Site manager of Vado Holding
Bruno told People’s Daily that nearly 80 percent of the project had been
completed, and the first berth is expected to be put into use before the end of
this year. “The new terminal will have a quay that is 700 meters long, with an
annual handling capacity of 860,000 TEUs,” Bruno said, adding that it can berth
the largest vessel in the world.
According to Wang Yuqiu,
vice-general manager of Vado Holding, the maximum capacity of surrounding
terminals was 8,800 TEUs due to the limited channel depth and headroom. He
introduced that the new terminal would be able to berth 20,000-TEU vessels,
expanding the original cargo structure of the port that used to center with
fruits.
With the inflow of other
commodities such as industrial products and daily necessities, the cargo supply
structure of the port will be largely diversified, Wang added.
After inspecting at the
construction site, Vado Holding’s general manager Paolo Cornetto received an
interview from People’s Daily. He said that the advanced equipment and
operation system brought by the Chinese enterprise offered powerful technical
support for the Italian side to construct its first automated container
terminal. The new terminal would create nearly 400 jobs for local community, he
added.
Since the start of the
China-Italy cooperation, the operation of the Vado Holding witnessed continuous
improvement. Last year, the company’s profit went up by 16 percent.
Cornetto was very pleased to see
the new development of the company, saying the Chinese management team shared
valuable experiences in construction and operation. “We have the same goal, and
the cooperation is energetic. Everyone is actively facing challenges and
focusing on their jobs,” he said.
“In a sense, the cooperation
between China and Italy on the construction of the Vado port is collaboration
between the strong, and our clients are also expecting the cooperation to bring
new changes to the port,” Cornetto told People’s Daily.
“The BRI enhanced connectivity
among countries along the route, and facilitated social and economic
development,” said Cornetto, believing that the Vado port would play a more
important role in the initiative.
Paolo Emilio Signorini, president
of the Port Authority of the Port of Genoa, noted that Chinese investment
endowed the Vado Ligure port with a new look. Thanks to the COSCO fleet, more
and more cargos were entering the port, which further facilitated the
development of local logistics industry, created more jobs, and injected
impetus to the economy of Genoa, he said.
“The construction of the Vado Ligure
port is an important part to improve the supply chain in northern Italy,
Switzerland and southern Germany, and the port will possess a vital strategic
position in the Liguria region, greatly improving the efficiency of the
terminals.” said Giovanni Toti, president of Liguria.
“We hope to make more
contributions to the construction of the Belt and Road,” he told People’s
Daily.
In the future, most of the cargos
imported via the Vado Ligure port will be transported by rail to northern
Italy, Germany and Switzerland.
“I hope that the port can be
connected with the China-Europe freight trains so that the cargos imported via
the port can be shipped to central and western Europe, central Asia and China
by land. In addition, the cargos transported by the freight service can also be
transferred to the port and be shipped to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco,” Wang
told People’s Daily.
If so, the Vado Ligure port will
not only serve as a new gate for central and southern Europe, but also a
channel to enhance the region’s trade relations with Africa.
Apart from the Vado Ligure container
terminal, other ports in Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, in Venice and Ravenna are
also beefing up cooperation with Chinese enterprises.
Italy issued its fifth annual
report on blue economy last June, pointing out that the transportation route of
Asian trade was gradually becoming a leading force for global trade under the
promotion of the Belt and Road construction.
The competitiveness of the
Mediterranean ports was rising together with their elevating importance, the
report said.
The photo shows
a bird's-eye view the container terminal of the Vado Ligure port. (Photo by
Vado Holding B.V)
China contributes to Italian port construction for win-win results
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