The Sicilian ports are now a network

It was signed today in Messina, by Antonino De Simone, Special Commissioner of the Port Authority of Messina, by Andrea Annunziata, president of the Port System Authority of the Eastern Sicilian Sea and by Pasqualino Monti, president of the Port Authority Authority of the sea ​​of ​​western Sicily, a memorandum of understanding to start a constant collaboration among the three ports and to facilitate the exchange of good practices and the protection of the collective interest, prelude to the establishment of an association of Sicilian ports based in Palermo and presided over from Andrea Annunziata.

A necessary starting point to dispel a mental attitude: the idea that the South always draws North. Not so, the South is developing important initiatives and it could be better if it worked as a system. Here is the key word: system. The synergy with the other Sicilian port authorities is strategic. For years the Sicilian port authorities have collaborated in the promotion of cruise activities, presenting themselves together with trade fairs in Italy and abroad.
The new synergy will serve to organize promotional or training initiatives of common interest at national, European and international levels, to promote the Sicilian port and the maritime cluster in each location.
The goal is always to enhance Sicily and its tourist-cultural riches starting from particular ways of access, ports, an organic part of an economy that has shaped specific cultures and lifestyles over the centuries.
Among the numerous objectives are those of giving impetus to planning, to continue a coordinated development of the Sicilian maritime and multi-modal transport system, serving the regional and national economy, in line with the principles contained in the National Strategic Plan of the port and logistics, the European TEN- T Network and the Mediterranean Scandinavian Corridor.
An exchange of experiences that, in addition to promoting the evolution of Sicilian infrastructures and the implementation and management of transport networks, infrastructure nodes and intermodal platforms and logistics, will support any initiative aimed at the sustainable development of the economy maritime and transport, promoting the widest possible application of alternative energies, in the interest of the Sicilian port.

“This signature represents for us, that we have not yet become a Port System Authority, the recognition of a reality, represented by the ports of jurisdiction -said De Simone.- But above all it is a signal addressed to all Sicilians because they understand the  value represented by the port authorities for the territory on which they insist. Together we will be stronger in the work of promoting the “brand” of Sicily on the international logistics and cruise markets “.

The President Annunziata: “Ours is not an autonomous drive, but experience teaches us that making a system is today an unavoidable strategy. We can become an alternative to Assoporti and introduce ourselves together in Rome and Brussels as well to meke heavier the ports and their  territories on the contractual level: Sicily has a duty to prepare to compete in the world of global markets. The SEZs can be an extraordinary flywheel to attract investments in the areas of relevance, not only for the tax exemption offered but above all for the speed of project implementation times “.

“In a Sicily that wants to start from the sea, the watchword is” aggregation “, that is to present itself in a systemic logic that increases the appeal towards the interlocutor, especially the foreigner. We will continue to go forward each with their own strategies, peculiarities, priorities and assets: we will be three different cards but within the same deck “, comments President Monti.