Skip to content
Attività

The maritime economy: integrated ports and economic development

    • Naples
    • 27 May 2018

          The participants at this National Conference kicked off proceedings by highlighting that Italy serves as a mid-Mediterranean berthing facility for the continent, in a region where the maritime economy is a pivotal economic resource, with shipbuilding generating 7 billion euro in value-added, maritime transport 8 billion euro, and sea-linked tourism over 13 billion euro. Alongside these three cornerstones (which account for 64% of the value chain), there are other related components that contribute to the nation’s “blue economy” achieving value-added of over 44 billion euro.

          It was emphasized that the economic and strategic role of ports in handling imported and exported goods must be considered as well, with a view to forging links between the maritime economy and industry. In order to achieve this, however, it was deemed necessary to also pay careful attention to the regional and national inland areas where port infrastructure is embedded. Ports, as hubs in a global network, have a functional relationship with the economic area that hosts them. For instance, the development and prosperity of the adjacent economic hinterland determines the success of ports such as Rotterdam and Hamburg, which are major competitors to Italian ports.

          Enhancing the context in which ports operate also entails taking into account all aspects of major economic and employment importance that are the lifeblood of the maritime economy. While characterizing the value chain as richly profuse, it was acknowledged that linkages still need to be thought through from scratch in order to systematize tourist activities with more industrial operations, such as shipbuilding. To this end, it was suggested that efforts must be made to ensure public operators and private initiative (that is, capital and creativity) work together. It was felt that Italy still has great room for improvement in this regard, and needs effective, targeted, and coordinated policies.

          Only in this way can the country tap into the benefits flowing from many international infrastructure projects, ranging from the doubling of the Suez Canal to the implementation of China’s “One Belt One Road” initiative. These were seen as strategic opportunities that could give the Mediterranean a new role vis-à-vis both Europe and the Atlantic. It was urged that, in order to seize such opportunities, Italy must devise an effective port strategy that takes into account the fulfillment by ports of different roles and purposes. The strategy should, in other words, be capable of integrating Italian ports within a single, coherent national framework, while respecting the diverse roles they play and development prospects they have within the country.

            Related content