Ribbon Cut For The “Renovated” Calata Delle Vele Quay And Palacrociere Terminal 1.
Twenty-two million euros invested in the historic port of Savona.
Savona, November 14, 2019 - With the ribbon-cutting ceremony held this morning, the “renovated” Calata delle Vele cruise ship quay and Palacrociere terminal 1 were inaugurated in the historic port of Savona.
The ceremony was attended by the city's mayor, Ilaria Caprioglio, the Liguria Region president, Giovanni Toti, the president of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority, Paolo Emilio Signorini, and the president of Costa Cruises Neil Palomba. In keeping with tradition, the ceremony was also blessed by Mons. Angelo Monaco.
The total investment made by the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority to renovate the quay, and by Costa Cruises on the terminal, amounts to around 22 million euros.
The work was completed within the expected timescale and has adapted the main cruise ship quay to the requirements of the latest generation of ships. Costa Cruise has therefore regained access to its historic quay, where millions of passengers have regularly disembarked over the last fifteen years or so, making the Savona hub one of the busiest cruise ports in Italy and Europe.
Allowing the quay to accommodate the most recently built ships required the sea bed to be deepened from the initial -9 meters to -11, which involved reinforcing quays 9 and 10 and the installation of scaffolding supported by pillars on the front of quay 8. The investment of 17 million euros made by the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority fully respected the project timetable for the arrival of the Costa Diadema.
Paolo Emilio Signorini, president of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority, said: “Supporting the cruise sector is a priority for the Port Authority. This priority is shared with Costa Cruises, which made the considerable investments needed to adapt its home port's passenger facilities as a further successful step forward in the fruitful relationship it has always had with the authority.” President Signorini continued: “Savona and Genoa are in the top 10 Italian ports with a positive trend for the current year and excellent forecasts for 2020 that reinforce this trend, making Liguria the top Italian region in terms of the number of cruise travelers received. The efforts made by the Port Authority and Costa Cruises are an important confirmation, coming at the end of a difficult year which has seen all the institutions involved in a relaunch following the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa.”
Costa Cruises has invested a total of almost 5 million euros in the adaptation work on the Palacrociere terminal 1. Following a competitive tender process, the work carried out within the facility was entrusted to six companies from the Savona area. They involved a reorganization of the entrance hall, where the fountain was removed, the reception desk was rebuilt and the rear area used for security checks on travelers boarding the ships was widened and fitted with four X-ray machines. Also to help regulate the flow of passengers, part of the terrace, measuring 130 square meters, was covered with a glass structure and will be used as an access area for cruise passengers in transit, with an additional four X-ray machines. The signs have been completely replaced and a connecting bridge built between the two higher floors. The biggest investment is related to the two “fingers”, the suspended walkways that connect the terminal to the ship. These glass and metal structures weigh 96 tonnes, measure 30 x 10 meters and are 18 meters high.
Furthermore, in order to regulate the flow of pedestrians more efficiently and safely along Via Gramsci in Savona, close to the crossing opposite the dockyard, Costa Cruises will fund the purchase and installation of a new “on demand” traffic light system.
“The inauguration of this new port infrastructure, resulting from the fruitful cooperation with the Port Authority, consolidates our strategic development plans for Savona. The work on the terminal and quay will in fact accommodate Costa Smeralda, our new LNG flagship, which is going to revolutionize the industry as it significantly reduces the environmental impact without compromising safety aspects we consider essential. We are pleased to bring this innovative technology, in which we were the first to believe, specifically to Savona, a city with which we have had strong ties for over 20 years. Thanks to the arrival of Costa Smeralda in 2020, we expect our traffic in Savona to grow again, with 900,000 passenger movements.” – says Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises.
The work on the quay and the Palacrociere terminal 1 was carried out ahead of the arrival of Costa Smeralda, the new flagship that will be calling at Savona every Saturday from December 21, 2019. Costa Smeralda is a real turning point in minimizing environmental impact because it is fueled, both in port and at sea, by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the cleanest fossil fuel in the world. Using LNG in fact allows sulfur oxide and particulate emissions to be almost completed eliminated, significantly reducing nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide as well.
For further information:
Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority
Marina Monti – Comunication Director – cell.+39 331 6869306- marina.monti@portsofgenoa.com
Cristina de Gregori- Comunication manager- cell. +39 335 7972643- cristina.degregori@portsofgenoa.com
Costa Cruises Press Office
Tel. +39 010 5483523 / 010 5483068 - costapressoffice@costa.it
Gabriele Baroni – Communication Director – cell +39 349 7668013 - baroni@costa.it
Davide Barbano – Media Relations Manager – cell +39 334 6525216 - barbano@costa.it
Cristiano de Musso – Head of Communication – cell +39 334 6805095 demusso@costa.it
www.costapresscenter.com
