GENOA, May 4, 2023 – “Genoa’s new breakwater is the dream of a country that thinks of the future, of our children, of how to be competitive in the world, and of how to build quickly the infrastructure that is needed. It is obvious that we face a big challenge due to the conditions and technical difficulties, and we would want to be in the same country of the 1950s and 1960s when there was a will to rebuild. This project is not a challenge for Webuild or the Government but for the entire country that must have infrastructure that is innovative and strategic.” 

Webuild Chief Executive Pietro Salini spoke at the ceremony marking the start of work on the new Genoa breakwater, the largest project ever to be conducted to improve an Italian port. The breakwater, whose construction will employ approximately 1,000 people, directly and indirectly, was commissioned by the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority. It will be built by the PERGENOVA BREAKWATER, a consortium led by Webuild in collaboration with Fincantieri Infrastructure Opere Marittime, Fincosit and Sidra.  

“In the course of a single generation, extraordinary changes can be made,” added Salini. “Let’s not forget that there are extraordinary cities such as Doha in Qatar that – 30 years ago – had a much simpler structure. Today, thanks to infrastructure, they have become avantgarde cities from the point of view of city planning. When this port was born, ships were 100 metres long. Today they are 400 metres long. This shows that, if we want a competitive country, we must be ready to build the necessary infrastructure within the designated timeframe. Our country has grown little in the last 20 years compared with other European countries. There are many reasons. And we often mistakenly say that it was because we were unable to build public works that were necessary. But we have extraordinary abilities that have given the world innovation and ideas. At the same time, with Fincantieri and Fincosit, we will put all of our effort and expertise into building the new breakwater by 2026. We will look to replicate the miracle of building the new Genoa San Giorgio Bridge in record time. How were we able to do it? We gave everything we had. And we did it with the country, the city, and the region because everyone wanted to contribute in their way to completing the project that was necessary for the city.” 

“Improving the access for ships to the port of Genoa will consolidate the strategic role of the city’s port system in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor of the TEN-T network, which goes from Genoa all the way to Rotterdam. The Terzo Valico dei Giovi-Genova Juncture project, which is being built by Webuild, is also a part of it,” said Salini. “This project is unique in the world for its engineering complexity and innovation, and for the fact that it will be done offshore in the open sea without interrupting the port’s activities.