The project involves the promotion, activation and completion of the technical and administrative procedures and the implementation of the necessary works - as well as measures connected with the creation of an intermodal transport network able to facilitate logistics development - for the construction of an Eco Industrial Park in the Taranto dry port area.
The area involved in this project - entirely run by AdSPMI and for which procedures are underway to extend the territorial boundaries and to allocate it to the Authority's maritime domain - is part of the Interregional Ionian Special Economic Zone as well as within the perimeter of the Customs Free Zone of the Port of Taranto and ensures the possibility of benefiting from the related perks and facilities in place for new production settlements. The areas cover 750,000 square metres in the port area, where it is planned to build 170,000 square metres of modular covered areas. The project has full planning permission and is environmentally compatible. The facility also offers an advantageous location for investors and user companies interested in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean: proximity to the port, the container terminal and the new logistics platform, efficient rail connections.
The initial project - known as the "Distripark" - involved the creation of a facility aimed at attracting a number of companies involved in transport, processing and assembly of industrial components, closely linked to the traffic flows of the port of Taranto. In the transition towards a new project concept with a strong green focus, the Eco Industrial Park fits into a context mainly linked to the concept of sustainability. This project is not only in line with the port community’s evolution but is also in line with certain strategic measures promoted at EU level as part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The new concept is based on 5 development pillars::
- renewable energy communities,
- the sustainable industrial park,
- the logistics park,
- green mobility,
- connectivity.
These are 5 guiding principles that define the reference context and new features of the Distripark project and aim to ensure the green development of business initiatives and the economic, entrepreneurial and employment growth of the Ionian area. The aim is to create the conditions to make the Taranto Eco Industrial Park the first energy community capable of efficiently producing, managing and consuming the energy needs of the companies that will settle in the smart green port of Taranto.
Overall, the new Distripark project, renamed Eco Industrial Park - whose strategic importance has been fully recognised at national and EU level with its inclusion in the NRRP - represents a further development opportunity for the Ionian territory, which the AdSPMI intends to embrace. Overall, the infrastructure is ideal as a location for both production and logistics activities, featuring a high degree of innovation - including energy - and linked to the import-export flows of port traffic.