Genoa restarts from the economy of the sea. Public private research center – Corriere.it
The time in which he looked at Genoa as at a petrified forest behind him. One piece at a time, the city is rediscovering the innovative spirit of its DNA. For Alberto Amico, the president of the shipyard of the same name, an Italian excellence and one of the top three in the world in the “refit” of large yachts, the awakening of the Lantern is already a reality and the four-day summit of the Blue Economy which opens tomorrow the idea of a city that does not accept decline.
In the electrified dockyard – Amico & Co welcomes the great yachts of global magnates, pop stars and directors, Spielberg’s is only the latest in order of time – over 50 million have been invested in seven years, including the shiplift of 4 thousand tons, one of the two (only) European nautical lifts of this capacity, the other in Barcelona. But if the sustainable shipyard attracts an increasing number of yachts, the connection with the city will be the challenge of the coming years. this sense of the new Marina created by Amico which will be integrated with this Levante Waterfront designed by Renzo Piano, a project that the architect gave to his city and which will be completed in 2023.
The economy that revolves around large yachts a motor for the territory, with an expected return of three times the investment, he says. The welcome to the crews – seasonally adjusted tourism with high spending capacity and which affects the whole North, many in winter go as far as the Alps to ski – a formidable boost to the construction of the offer of services. The Ambrosetti study estimates the impact along the entire nautical supply chain to be 370 million, with a contribution to the Ligurian GDP of 133 million in 2019, the year in which companies in the sector managed 1,800 yacht calls for 46,000 days of stay and 7,000 members of crew. Amico does not hide the paradoxes: the hi-tech Marina and the Gronda stopped for two years, the regenerated port and districts in trouble. But contagious quality is his bet.
The excitement is not lacking. Among the protagonists of the Summit is the Genoa Blue District, a public-private laboratory that brings together different subjects, from IIT to Cnr, to the University, to banks, to foundations, to companies. We are starting from our sea, the first resource and from the care of the environment – says Claudio Oliva director of the start-up accelerator which is based in the Magazzini dell’Abbondanza. We have collected beautiful projects, ten are already financed, he explains, citing among others an innovative membrane project for the treatment of black and gray waters on board the ship, the Genoa Ocean Agor (Goa) a sports square that provides an artificial reef for the surf with the function of protecting the coast from storm surges. The underwater reef, which will be made of natural material, is designed to promote fish repopulation and biodiversity. Among the many ideas of the researchers, the creation of a new water bike and a regulation marine cycle path.