Italy's port of Ravenna is investing heavily to grab a bigger share of growing trade with China and other Asian countries, the port authority told Reuters. The northeast Adriatic port is the country's leading handler of cereals and cereal products, with throughput of more than two million tonnes last year.
"On the Adriatic coast and in Ravenna in particular, there is a great expectation to be able to attract...the growing traffic to and from the Far East," Ravenna port chairman Giuseppe Parrello said late on Tuesday.
Ravenna has invested 220 million euros ($292.7 million) over the past few years and the port authority plans to spend a further 187 million euros in 2007-2009 to improve infrastructure and open up to bigger vessels.
"We would be able to receive ships of up to 5,000-7,000 TEUs (standard container units of 20-foot equivalent)...to double the capacity of ships that we can receive," Parrello said.
He expected cargo volume growth at Ravenna to slow to less than 10 percent this year after a 12 percent jump to record highs of 27 million tonnes last year, when the increase was further powered by general economic expansion.
Ravenna, also a national leader in handling fertiliser and clay for ceramics, recently got a boost from steel trade with China. It benefits from being close to a major plant of metals group Marcegaglia, which imports three million tonnes of steel, mostly from China, Parrello said. Metals, timber and construction materials have been faring well so far this year, he added.
Parrello said the port aimed to boost container turnover, which jumped 20 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to port data. Ravenna - among the top nine ports in Italy according to a recent survey cited by Parrello - has also been improving transport infrastructure.
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