“What happened to the funds allocated to the port of Vibo Valentia? The important infrastructure has been the recipient, since 2018, of a loan of 18 million euros deriving from the Development and Cohesion Fund. Specifically, the planned interventions concern “ Renovation and consolidation works of the Pola and Tripoli docks” for an amount of 6.5 million euros and “Renovation and consolidation works of the Papandrea and Buccarelli docks” for an amount of 11.5 million euros. After several years in which the resources remained blocked, in 2022 the sum was made, with serious delay, available to the Port System Authority of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, which has jurisdiction over the port of Vibo Marina. The aforementioned Port System Authority was able , therefore, tenders were announced and works worth nine million were awarded, but, following appeals to the TAR and the Council of State of the excluded companies, we are currently awaiting the judges’ decision on the name of the definitive assignee who will then have to carry out work on the docks”. This was stated in a joint note by the Regional Councilor and group leader of the 5 Star Movement, Davide Tavernise and the Deputy of the 5 Star Movement, Riccardo Tucci.
“For the further works with the other half of the financing, the tender was unsuccessful – Tavernise and Tucci recalled – and this led to the need to launch a new procedure. As there was no longer the necessary time, due to the deadline December 2022, due to the delay of the previous assignment, it was no longer possible to carry out a new tender. Following this, the Calabria Region requested and obtained from the Port System Authority of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas the return of the nine million already assigned , for exampler use these resources in other projects with more immediate feasibility, without specifying their purposes and location. We contest the decision carried out by the Calabria region and, through a regional question produced by Councilor Tavernise and addressed to the President of the Regional Council, Roberto Occhiuto, we ask to know what initiatives it intends to take in order to make the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas the nine million assigned since 2018 to the port of Vibo Valentia and then moved to other projects whose purposes are unknown, and whether it intends to work, also towards the national government, to find the other necessary resources to the relaunch of the port of Vibo Marina, so as to make this fundamental infrastructure the fulcrum of a territorial rebirth in both economic and employment terms”.
Tavernise and Tucci finally recalled “that the national government collects around 250 million every year from the royalties of the port of Vibo Valentia, while the Region receives 10%, around 25 million euros. Money which has no return on the territory, despite all the related inconveniences caused by the cumbersome presence of coastal fuel depots. As the 5 Star Movement we are convinced that the port represents the most important infrastructure in the province of Vibo, which it is necessary to look at with greater attention because, despite the delays accumulated over the years, can and must still be the driving force for the economic development of the entire hinterland”.