Webuild consortium wins €928m port project

An aerial view of the current breakwater structure at Port of Genoa, with the new breakwater's planned location. (Photo: Webuild)

A consortium led by Webuild has won a €928 million project to construct a new breakwater (a barrier built in the sea to protect a coast) at the Port of Genoa in Northern Italy.

The Genoa Breakwater Project is described as “the biggest renewal of the port’s infrastructure on the Ligurian coast in 25 years” and will enable the port to accommodate the largest of container ships, improving its competitiveness.

Webuild, Fincantieri Infrastructure Opere Marittime, Foncosit and Sidra will build the offshore structure on behalf of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority.

Situated “approximately 450 metres beyond the current barrier”, construction of the new breakwater will provide a wide turning basin for container ships measuring up to 400-450 metres in length - double the size of vessels the port is currently able to accommodate. 

Phase A of the project comprises the installation of around seven million tonnes of rock - at an underwater depth of up to 50m - for the foundations of the breakwater, which itself will be made from roughly 100 prefabricated reinforced concrete caissons. 

“The caissons will be up to 33 metres high, 35 metres wide and 67 metres long, each equal to a 10-storey building,” said Webuild.

“The infrastructure will be enhanced by innovative technology, construction techniques and sustainability characteristics together with the application of the principles of a circular economy, including the recovery re-use and transformation of excavated material.”

Improvement works to the Port of Genoa, which are being co-funded by the Italian Government, intend to “strengthen its strategic role within the Rhine-Alpine Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T)”.

A new high-speed railway line currently being built in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor will also benefit the port.

The €6.9 billion Terzo Valico deo Giovi-Genoa Junction rail line, will connect Liguria to Lombardy, and improving logistical links between Genoa and the European TEN-T network up to Rotterdam.