According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of a major allocation under framework loan 2020-0263 to finance the expansion and redesign of the exterior breakwater at the Port of Genoa.

The project concerns the expansion and reconfiguration of the existing external breakwater ("Diga Foranea - Phase A"), located in the Port of Genoa, including the construction of new sections and the demolition of some existing ones. The project is expected to enhance the manoeuvrability and safety of seaside operations by providing a larger manoeuvring circle area and wider access channels.

The Project supports the development of the Port of Genoa, a rail connected core TEN-T port located on the Mediterranean Corridor. The Project provides safe maritime access to port users, allows larger vessels to access the port and as such reduces costs of maritime transport. Consequently, the Project enhances the resilience and sustainability of the regional and European transport system, in line with EU objectives and the EIB Transport Lending Policy.

The project covers the expansion and redesign of the existing exterior breakwater at the Port of Genoa in order to allow larger vessels to berth in more efficient and safe manoeuvrability conditions. It includes the construction of new sections, the demolition of existing sections and the reinforcement of other already existing sections. The configuration of the new breakwater will guarantee a new manoeuvring circle with a 800 m diameter in front of “Bacino Sampierdarena”, a new access channel with 2,800 m length and 300 m width to that same area and an internal channel in front of “Bacino Sampierdarena” with 400 m width.

The construction works of Phase A of the project will include the construction of approximately 4,010 m of new breakwater sections, the scour protection reinforcement of approximately 765 m of existing breakwater sections and the demolition of approximately 2,200 m of existing breakwater sections. The deepest sections of the new breakwater structure will go up to 50 m depth. The top level of the caissons lays at 3.40 m m.s.l. (7.00 m including crest wall).

According to the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and the related Decision, the main environmental impacts can be divided in temporary impacts during the construction and permanent impacts during operation. The ones qualified as significant before the implementation of any mitigation measures include the following: water turbidity; vibration and noise during construction; and limited changes to the sedimentation dynamics in the shoreline.

The Project is to be implemented in the vicinity of six Natura 2000 sites. The project site is more than 2,000 m away from the closest Natura 2000 site. The integrity of the sites is not expected to be negatively affected by the project:

• SAC IT1332576 “Fondali Boccadasse – Nervi” (maritime);
• SAC IT1332575 “Fondali Nervi - Sori” (maritime);
• SAC IT1332477 “Fondali Arenzano – Punta Ivrea” (maritime);
• SAC IT1312392 “Tutela del Tursiope Mar Ligure” (maritime);
• SAC IT1331615 “Monte Gazzo” (land based);
• SAC IT1331606 “Torre Quezzi” (land based.

The EIA report includes an analysis of the water bodies quality. The impacted water bodies are the Genova Bisagno (IT07CW_01001015) and Genova Polcevera (IT07CW_01001014_1) and the related impacts are considered as negligible or non-significant. It is concluded that the Project will not interfere with the objectives of the relevant river basin management plan and complies with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC and aligns with the Marine Strategy Directive 2008/56/EC objectives.

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