Technical-economic assessments on the feasibility of new infrastructures serving seaport and dry port of Venice

Despite the millenary tradition of the city, the current port of Venice was built only about a hundred of years ago and located in a suburb named Marghera. The lack of an updated regulatory plan and of suitable inland transport connections have made it difficult to increase commercial traffic after the crisis of the chemical industry, although a strong growth in the luxury cruise industry. Only the construction of new infrastructures (both land and sea side) and the recovery of many abandoned areas have given a new impetus to the port. However, the reduction in maritime traffic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a drastic decline in commercial movements and cruises, with the risk of a total economic collapse. The recent approval of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, that identifies ports as strategic infrastructures, and the approval of the “Strategic Development Plan” aimed at establishing the “Simplified Logistics Zone of the Port of Venice and Rodigino” by the Veneto Region, have directed new investments towards the port of Venice. Furthermore, the growing awareness of the weakness of the lagoon ecosystem, the need to preserve Venice and the impossibility of enlarging the port areas have led to the need for new infrastructures that still allow the use of the current port. This article will mainly evaluate the technical-economic feasibility of new docking points outside the Venice lagoon that can be used by passenger ships of gross tonnage over 40,000 tons and by transoceanic container ships. Measures to improve the accessibility of the current seaport and dry port through new road and rail infrastructures will also be examined and evaluated. Indications are given regarding the necessary regeneration of the current sea- and dry-port and interventions aimed at ensuring greater environmental sustainability, such as cold ironing and electric mobility.